"Morogris" for Borderland Beat; TY to "Anonymous"
Luis Alberto Blanco Flores, alias "El Pelochas", "M-28", and/or "Metro 28", one of the highest-ranking Gulf Cartel members in recent years, was sentenced to 11 and a half years in prison for aggravated extorsion and organized crime involvement, the Tamaulipas Prosecutor's Office confirmed.
In addition to his sentence, judicial authorities ordered him to pay a MXN$41,745 fine and MXN$115,300 in reparations.
"El Pelochas" belonged to Los Metros, a faction of the Gulf Cartel with presence in Rio Bravo, Reynosa, and La Frontera Chica border areas. Through deaths and betrayals he was promoted and became second in command in the criminal structure.
He had the task of defending the plazas against Los Ciclones, another Gulf Cartel faction based in Matamoros, and against the remnants of the old Zetas group.
He was captured in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, on August 2018. At the time of his arrest, "El Pelochas" was one of Mexico's most-wanted men and there was a 2 million peso (USD 104,806) bounty for his capture.
Background
"El Pelochas" began his criminal career with the Gulf Cartel as an halcon [lookout] and went on to become an assassin. He was assigned Rio Bravo municipality.
He was arrested on July 23, 2010 in Brownsville, Texas, for illegal entry to the United States. A month later, on August 6, he appeared before the federal court, with Rick Canales as lawyer.
At the hearing, which was attended by his mother and wife, "El Pelochas" could not contain his tears in front of Judge Ronald Morgan. On September 22, he pleaded guilty to illegally entering the United States. He regained his freedom at the end of the year by paying bail of more than US$25,000 and returned to Tamaulipas.
He remained inside the Gulf Cartel and returned to the United States where he was once again arrested.
On June 5 of the following year, El Pelochas was deported at 1:15 p.m. after an international flight from the city of Atlanta, Georgia, to Mexico City. Authorities detained him since he had an arrest warrant issued by the First District Court in the state of Tamaulipas for drug trafficking.
In Tamaulipas they could not prove his drug trafficking charges, so he regained his freedom.
Once in Mexico, he joined Juan Carrizales, alias "El 98", who worked under Juan Manuel Loza Salinas, alias "El Comandante Toro", leader of Los Metros faction.
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| El Pelochas taken into custody during his 2018 arrest in Monterrey |
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| El Pelochas was transported in a helicopter after his arrest |
Gulf Cartel infighting
In Tamaulipas a power war was unleashed inside Los Metros in the late 2010s, between Humberto or Steven Loza Méndez, alias "Betito", nephew of "El Comandante Toro" and Jesus Garcia "El Güero Jessi".
Petronilo Moreno Flores "Comandante Panilo" and "El Pelochas" supported "El Betillo".
"El Güero Jessi" was an operator who had all the confidence of "El Comandante Toro", since he was entrusted with the Reynosa plaza while he took refuge in Nuevo León. While he was in Nuevo León, he took refuge in one of the houses of "El Commander Panilo."
In May "Comandante Panilo" also sought leadership in the Gulf Cartel and marked his distance from "El Betillo", the latter was left with only the support of "El Pelochas".
"El Betillo" and "El Pelochas" agreed to remove "El Güero Jessi" and "El Comandante Panilo" from the road to assume the leadership of Los Metros.
In June 19, 2017, "El Pelochas" allegedly abducted and executed "El Güero Jessi".
Inside Los Metros circulated the version that "Comandante Panilo" had stolen money from the wife of "El Comandante Toro".
"Comandante Panilo" retreated and organized his men to face "El Betillo" in Reynosa and "El Pelochas" in Rio Bravo.
On August 22, 2017, elements of the Mexican Army intercepted a commando of hitmen from Los Metros who transported stolen fuel in Valle Hermoso and Río Bravo, which was headed by "El Pelochas", who managed to escape.
"El Betillo" was killed in January 2018, and both "Comandante Panilo" and "Pelochas" were eventually arrested the same year.
Sources: Reforma (paywall); Borderland Beat archives
Pocket change in fines and of course he will be released in a week or so. Impunity & Immunity. MX’s national theme.
ReplyDeleteAt one point the Gulf Cartel was a super cartel. Now they are nothing more than golfas chickens running without a head.
ReplyDeleteA great leader is always needed to manage such an organization.
QEPD El Señor Tony Tormenta
Don Juan
Delete@2:00 @9:38
DeleteA Don Juan García y a los Cárdenas, los Salinas los traicionaron y ahorita traen inflado al puñetón del Mencho.
Tormenta was nothing more than a drug addict
DeleteHe will be out in couple of years
ReplyDeleteweeks, if that
DeleteDont know how CDG stays active with all the infighting, weird CDS and CJNG havent taken advantage and moved north yet
ReplyDeleteYou dumbass jaliscas control reynosa and the frontera chica by proxy one of their ppl named el primito bought the plaza boss position from el choco for 5 million bucks. As far as as the rest of the north el chapo tried to take over nuevo laredo and got his ass kicked by the cdg zetas years ago and even though the cdg is divided and so are the zetas jaliscas or sinaloa wld get torn up if they try to take over the north by force. The cdg matamoros and even the cdn are too entrenched in their territories. So jaliscas did the smart thing and bought the plaza from the metros cdg whom is the only cdg faction stupid enough to let another cartel rule over them.oziel cardenas must be fucking pissed at the recent developments in his old cartel.
Delete@7:23 OCG el ponededos? El que ahorita tiene el control hace buenos negocios y asi no están chingando con la población pidiendo piso, extorsionando y secuestrando.
Delete7:23 tweekers don't control SHIT! Mucho menos la Frontera Chica. Los Beltran have displaced los Zetas in Nuevo Laredo. Not saying tweekers aren't paying to cross but control never. They don't have the Structure to control anywhere
Delete@12:52 You got it right.
DeleteThats what he gets for snitching and giving the military Toro's location. Toro was as close as you get to the original M3 and had moved the CDG Metros with pacts with matamoros and tampico and dedicated his cartel to strictly drug trafficking. Rip Toro
ReplyDeleteBullshit Toro was one of the sicarios that killed M3.
DeleteHe just learned to betray other metros and climb up the ladder…
Matamoros never had any pacts with los metros under el toros leadership. Matter of fact the matamoros cdg called meetings with the old school zetas and all old cdg or zetas factions except the metros and cdn to unite or at least not kill each other. Los metros are outcasts and not liked by any other cdg or zetas faction.
DeleteMonterrey is beautiful. Few cities in the world have a view like that one.
ReplyDeleteGrindelwald, Switzerland.
Delete6:53 Fack monterrey.
DeleteThe businessmen enhaged in drug trafficking for a long time have made a lot more money than any local cartel on the Mexican NorthEast. They are fans of local purty boy carlos ssalinas de gortari
@6:17 El pelochas ha traicionado a raza de ahí también. Ya se le está saliendo del huacal.
DeleteMost wanted, high level in the cartel, but gets 11.5 years. Lol
ReplyDeleteWhat happened to the forum? & flaco Sierra is out of prison he's plaza boss in Camargo and comales
ReplyDeleteForum is gone because of too many "Intelectuales Organicos"
DeleteEven if he is out early, he has no chance at reclaiming - or claiming - anything at all. I would try to bribe my way out and then leave the country with what whatever money he has.
ReplyDelete$100 that he gets murdered in prison btw, who’s up for a bet?