El Marro’s father and brother may take control the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel

Chivis Martinez Borderland Beat

What will happen to Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel?

Sunday, August 2, federal and state authorities announced El Marro’s arrest.

Juan Rodolfo Yépez Godoy and Rodolfo Yépez Ortiz, his father and brother, could take over the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel and continue the turf war the local cartel launched against the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) in Guanajuato.

Federal forces and state authorities arrested “El Marro”. The infamous cartel boss vowed to wreak havoc in Guanajuato after authorities arrested his mother and sister. He threatened President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on two occasions.

According to an intelligence report from the navy and army, federal authorities have arrested the majority of El Marro’s inner circle, including Fabián “El Vieja” Lara Barman and Noé “El Puma” Lara Barman. “El Puma” joined the CJNG after co-founding the CSRL Cartel.

According to the documents, remaining in the local cartel include El Marro’s family, inner circle, financial operators, and others. They carry out fuel theft and drug sell operations, as well as surveillance.

El Marro’s inner circle is formed by Fernando Juárez Morelos, “El Pantera;” Eliseo Gutiérrez Belman, “Titis;” Fabián Lara Belman, “El Vieja;” Noé Israel Lara Belman, “El Puma;” Jesús Eduardo Linares, “El Triste;” José Manuel Félix Azueta, “El Meño;” Israel Lara Ruiz Castro, “El Nacaro.”

Authorities have arrested all of them.

Nevertheless, authorities haven’t arrested José Mario Lara Mendoza, aka “El Magia.” Lara Mendoza’s brother is Juan Lara Mendoza, the Villagrán mayor. 

The intelligence report indicates Angélica Mora Villalobos, “Angie;” Adán González Ochoa, “El Payki” or “El Gordo,” and María Guadalupe Ruiz Lara, “Pilly” are the cartel’s main financial operations.

It adds that El Marro’s sister Juana,  is in charge of purchasing properties. Eduardo Aguado, Jorge Enrique Peña Cuevas, “El Hulk,” and Mauricio Garcés Sotelo, “El Sotelo,” worked as straw-men.

The reports also includes the cartel boss’ love life.

It explains El Marro had relationships with four different women: María Luisa Cervantes, Karen Molina Villalobos, Andrea Magdalena Cervantes Ariza, and Elsa Marisol Martínez Prieto.

They all worked as financial operators.

The war against the CJNG

David Rogel Figueroa , alias “ El Güero ”, a former commander of the State Preventive Police in Chiapas originally linked to “Los Zetas” founded the Cartel Santa Rosa de Lima  and the main criminal activity was fuel theft.

According to federal authorities, the criminal organization gained notoriety when “El Marro” became the cartel boss. In 2017, it launched a war against CJNG to control fuel theft, drug sales, kidnapping, and extortion in the area.

The cartel was named after the Santa Rosa de Lima community where its leaders hail from. It has control over clandestine fuel taps and illegal fuel sales in the state.

Guanajuato state Security Commissioner Sofia Huett said earlier this year the gang may have called itself a cartel, but largely operated only in Guanajuato, jumping from one illegal activity to another.

"At one time they were a gang, not a cartel, that robbed trains," Huett said.

After security forces cracked down on that, the gang started to drill illegal taps into fuel pipelines and allowed locals to fill plastic tanks with gasoline or diesel. Always known for a propensity for violence, the Santa Rosa de Lima gang started stealing fuel directly from government oil refineries by the truckload; the smaller-scale pipeline taps were largely a way to win support from the local population. But when the government began stepping up security, they turned to other crimes.

Approximately 2 years ago the cartel diversified into extortion, kidnapping, train robberies, auto theft, and retail drug sales.

The Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel operates in Celaya, Salamanca, Santa Cruz, Juventino Rosas, Irapuato, Valle de Santiago, and Villagrán.

According to recent intelligence reports, the CJNG operates in Guanajuato municipalities, including León and Salamanca. It is fighting to control Cortazar, Celaya, Apaseo el Grande, and Apaseo el Alto.

Federal and state authorities indicated that the CJNG is involved drug sales, kidnapping, and extortion in León, Silao, Guanajuato, Irapuato, and Salamanca.

Investigations suggest the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel tried to forge alliances with Los Viagras and the Sinaloa Cartel to defeat the CJNG.

There are reports that in 2017 EL Mencho leader of CJNG,  sent a nephew to Guanajuato to broker a deal with El Marro, which would allow CJNG  to traffic drugs in the state while CSRL would keep the fuel theft business.*

Supposedly El Marro sent Menchos nephew back with the message that he vowed never to let in CJNG from neighboring Jalisco state.  Allegedly, that instigated the feud and the deadly violence that followed.

"They have very little capacity for constructing criminal alliances and that gives rise to internal divisions and confrontations with outside groups that at one time sought to collaborate in criminal activities, but with who they could not reach a deal." Huett said.

One can be assured, if true if the agreement had been entered into, true to form of Mencho’s historical method of operation and advancement, he would ultimately break the agreement and would be the beneficiary of the plaza and all that goes with it.

*Radio Formula and Reforma had this report which differed from El Universal: "the negotiation ended with the murder of “El Mencho's” nephew, since “El Marro” was not willing to be anyone's subordinate. Oseguera's relative was killed in a cafeteria in Irapuato, where the meeting took place.

Material from: The Yucatan Times, Proceso, El Universal, AM.Com.Mx