"Sol Prendido" for Borderland Beat
He is an elderly man, in a wheelchair, who fights against ailments while trying to tell his story. "My health is terrible, my family is making a hole for me to be buried in a tree," says Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, 75, founder of the Guadalajara Cartel, one of the first drug trafficking organizations in Mexico.
"I have no prognosis of life, since I lost everything. I lost my sensitivity, ears, eyes," explains Félix Gallardo in an exclusive interview with Noticias Telemundo, in the maximum security zone of the Puente Grande state prison, Jalisco. This is the first time that the 'Jefe de jefes' breaks the media silence during his long 32-year prison confinement.
Although he usually denies the accusations against him, Félix Gallardo was arrested in 1989 as part of the investigation into the murder of Enrique 'Kiki' Camarena Salazar, an agent of the United States Drug Control Administration (DEA). Among other charges, he was accused of weapons collection, bribery, health crimes and homicide. He was also sentenced for crimes such as drug trafficking and money laundering.
He starred in what, according to many experts, was the longest trial in the history of Mexico that lasted more than 28 years until, finally, in 2017, he was sentenced to 37 years in prison for the murders of Camarena and the Mexican pilot Alfredo Zavala Avelar
Recognized as a mastermind of drug trafficking, according to the U.S. anti-drug agency and multiple researchers, Félix Gallardo founded together with Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo and Rafael Caro Quintero an organization that the DEA would call the Guadalajara Cartel, because the drug lords lived in that city, but they were all from Sinaloa. The term 'cartel' was coined to describe this criminal gang.
The three men were convicted for their participation in the kidnapping, torture and murder of Camarena Salazar, who managed to infiltrate the organization to obtain information about drug trafficking but, when discovered, was killed.
However, Félix Gallardo is the only one who remains imprisoned in a prison because Fonseca Carrillo, sentenced to 40 years in prison, is serving home prison for his state of health and Caro Quintero was released in 2013 by a court that considered that he had been sentenced by an instance that did not correspond to him.
That decision was reversed by the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation and, since then, Caro Quintero is actively sought by the governments of Mexico and the United States.
"I am a corpse that expects nothing more than to be buried in the root of a tree," Félix Gallardo said during his conversation with Issa Osorio, correspondent for Noticias Telemundo.
This full interview will be broadcast, exclusively, on Noticias Telemundo at 6:30 pm this Wednesday, August 18 and then broadcast on our website and the app, as well as on our social networks.
A criminal empire
The activities of the Guadalajara Cartel redefined the scenario of drug trafficking and organized crime in Mexico because the vast majority of the collaborators and lieutenants of that trio of drug lords continued to expand the drug business.
Félix Gallardo had under his command notorious criminal leaders such as Héctor Luis 'El Güero' Palma Salazar, the brothers Arellano Félix, Amado Carrillo Fuentes 'El Señor de los Cielos' and Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán Loera, among others.
By 1989, 'El Godfather' (as Félix Gallardo was also known) had forged a criminal empire with multiple ramifications in states such as Sinaloa, Durango, Jalisco, Guerrero, Chihuahua, Baja California and Nayarit where he controlled the trafficking of poppy and marijuana, in addition to initiating connections with Colombian cartels to traffic cocaine to the United States.
It is believed that he was the first Mexican trafficker to establish air routes between South America, Central America and northern Mexico where the drugs passed to the United States by land.
His figure is part of Mexican popular culture: actor Diego Luna played him in the series Narcos: Mexico and, although it has never been confirmed, it is said that 'Jefe de jefes', the famous corrido of Los Tigres del Norte is about his life.
According to DEA estimates, he had a personal fortune of more than 50 million dollars from cocaine trafficking at the time he was arrested
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ReplyDeleteJaliscas and Michoachangos started punching the air as soon as they read the members of the Guadalajara cartel were from Sinaloa.
ReplyDeleteNobody cares bro on my part I'm here to read and educate myself not cheerlead like you and majority on here idk why chivis even let's comments like yours thru i guess gotta keep the trolls happy
DeleteOh no slowly the cheerleaders are wanting to creep up, under the better format to weed out trolls.
DeleteChivis has been on a well deserved vacation in a foreign country, people say Norway, no WiFi no TV, We have currently good writers and moderaters.
Dr.Sol sleeps alittle churning article from Mexico non stop.
MX is on special classified assignment.
All of you clowns are all from Mexico, but treat each other like ya'll from different countries. No wonder ya all messed up in Mexico smh
DeleteI know right, these people on here root for cartels like fat Americans root for football teams
DeleteIf he had 50 million he could had paid DEA off, and been home free. 28 year trail sounds like a Mexico 🇲🇽.
ReplyDeleteLet the old man go already 😱
ReplyDeleteFor real.
DeleteCartel de Guadalajara was not its own boss, it was family members of former governor jose Guadalupe Zuno Arce, generals maximino avila camacho and marcelino garcia barragan the Butcher of Tlatelolco whose sons have ruled jalisco and Nayarit and colima criminals with the Sinaloa cartel until the PANISTAS instigated divisions, the arellanuses ruled by the Hank Rohns, the Juarez Cartel, ruled by DFS until Amado Carrillo got killed and the golfas ruled by the Salinas de Gortaris until carlos escaped Mexico loaded with loot.
ReplyDeleteKiki Camarena got murdered because he messed with rogue agents' CIA BUSINESS, probably unaware that the money DEA confiscated was theirs, also in the cake NSA oliver north, with the Reagan administration, trafficking cocaine, grifa, contras nicaragüenses, weapons, millions of dollars, and iran/contra weapons for hostages.
ollie still trafficks in misinformation as a "journalist".
They cut the crap short when they blamed cartel de Guadalajara for everything and put them in prison to keep them quiet and saved impunity for themselves with Presidential Pardons for over 100 members and associates of the Reagan administration, recommended by AG Bill Barr to new president George HW Bush the former CIA director behind it all...
My question to you now is who is the owners of the CJNG?
DeleteAnd who were the owners of Los Zetas after they split from CDG. I like ur detailed info on who the real bosses were. Thank you
The owners of lis zetas? What kind of dumb ass question is that. The zetas worked for the cdg who made them until they turned on the cdg because cdg killed some asshole that worked for them in reynosa. Then the zetas became independent from cdg and worked for themselves but didnt las long and started to divide into factions. No one controlled them. And gallardo shldnt had palmas wife and kids killed over a load of coke. Now hes old and acting like a bitch. Hes lucked up for being a giant asshole.
DeleteYou dumb motherfucker. Read the comment to which i was referring too above me. He was stating which politcal families Nd parties "owned" which cartels. Or are you one of those idiots that believe Ppl like Chapo Mencho MZ can operate on their own? The real power and jefes behind these cartels are the Corrupt politicians.
Delete12:11 that's a dumb question, next you going to want to know the color of his underwear.
DeleteSosa get it together.
DeleteThis know it all smarmy little bitch is all over the comment section spewing his deep insider knowledge like hes someone special hes as bad if not worse then Sicario 006 and hes constantly passing blame onto the Usa for all of mexicos bullshit he likes to elevate himself to a higher position then everyone else but by the way he writes his position is clearly on the bottom . He loves to hear his narrow minded ass speak and hes always first to tell soneone they need to educate them selves because hes busy running around these comment sections like hes the teachers pet and has no patience for stupid comments that go against his blame America agenda.Very pathetic little effiminate character who cant handle the fact that Mexico is a place of extreme assholes who shit all over their own people regardless of where the weapons came from or what kind they were and he doesn't like Trump either not that anyone else does but hes constantly whining about it any chance she can get. Very sad case of Smarmy gone horribly wrong !
DeleteSmarmy
Ignorant
Retard .
Get off the keyboard no one gives a shit you can take all your useless knowledge and have a great day . Smarmy pants !
4:02 In your rabbling comment you say this and that but FAIL to say, who you are directing it to, Perhaps it's Sol? But then who are you calling sharmy? Perhaps SIR then again SIR stands for...
DeleteSryain Inc Resistance
The deaf, dumb, and blind Narco sure plays a mean pinball.
ReplyDeleteNo te meuras jefe. Traes toda la ehpoca. Chalk up 32 in the clink. To The King of King, I sing, Gallardo wing.
ReplyDeleteThat dude had a lot more than $50 million.
ReplyDelete