GuacamayaLeaks: 'Marlo' The Undercover Agent And Espionage Work Led To The Capture Of 'Marro'

 "Ivan" for Borderland Beat 

José Antonio Yépez Ortiz, leader of the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel, was spied on by an agent for months and the Army was on the verge of arresting him on several occasions.

An undercover agent, a collaborator and intelligence work by federal forces for at least 18 months led to the capture of José Antonio Yépez Ortiz, "El Marro", leader of the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel, on August 2, 2020.

Reports from the Sub-Chief of Intelligence of the Sedena, which are part of the millions of emails hacked from the Army by the Guacamaya collective, show that the armed forces tried to capture the drug trafficker leader, considered one of the priority targets of the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, on several occasions, using drones, dozens of elements and even Black Hawk helicopters.

One of the emails dated February 26, 2019, called "Caso Herramienta", and prepared by the Investigation Division of the extinct Federal Police, details that an agent with the code name of "Marlo" infiltrated the close circle of Marro, who operated in the municipalities of Apaseo El Grande, Leon, Salamanca, Irapuato and Celaya in the state of Guanajuato.

Agent "Marlo" achieved the first communications with some members of the CSRL, among whom was a financial operator of Yépez Ortiz, with whom he agreed to a meeting a week earlier, in which supposed police officers, who were actually members of the PF, would be present.

"Personnel from this investigation division, on board the radio patrol car unit.... . moved to make first contact with the circle close to the target called 'Herramienta' (Marro), led by the infiltrator ('Marlon') where, being in the municipality of Celaya, state of Guanajuato, the personnel were taken to a place close to the town of Santa Rosa de Lima, where they observed at all times a deployment of people who we know are called 'alcones', being led on dirt roads and escorted by three armed vehicles," it states.

"And upon arriving at the place they observed two ATVs driving away, one of which was driven by a male, who had all the characteristics of the target ('Herramienta'), while the other was driven by what we now know to be the financial operator of the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel, Once in the place, our infiltrator introduced our personnel as people he trusted, mentioning to the financial operator that they came with all the power to support him, to which the financial operator told them that his boss was leaving for the moment, saying that to generate trust and to be seen, they would have to demonstrate acts of good will.

The report states that the act of good will referred to by Marro's financial operator was to remove "those government institutions that have only asked him for money, the Gendarmerie, federal forces, the military and the last ones with whom they have made agreements and have not respected, is the Navy.

After the meeting, it was established as an intelligence strategy to gain the trust of Yépez Ortiz, to attend to the requests of Marro's operator, to assume operational control under the intelligence strategy to identify public servants (municipal police and state police) who are linked to the capo, as well as civilians and vehicles that provide him with protection.

As part of the operation to capture the leader of the CSRL, it was also proposed to coordinate with the Secretariat of the Navy and create intelligence filters to dismantle the armed wing and financial operator of "Herramienta", in order to subsequently "under a trust mirror scheme", achieve the arrest of José Antonio Yépez Ortiz.

THE "HERRAMIENTA" CASE

The operation also included the intervention of the communications of Marro's close circle. There are at least four e-mails detailing transcriptions of telephone calls where the operations of the military forces in the area are mentioned, as well as the possible hideouts where the cartel leader was hiding.

The tracking of people close to Yépez Ortiz began before that meeting, since on January 30, 2019, in a mail sent to the Deputy Chief of Intelligence, it was reported that the drug cartel leader was hiding in the municipality of Santa Cruz. The information is accompanied by images and a video recorded from a plane from a fenced property, at the moment when a trailer arrives.

"That's where they hid him. San José de los Manantiales", the text mentions.

In another email dated March 7 of the same year, it is mentioned that through an anonymous complaint, information was again obtained that El Marro was in the El Laureal subdivision, in the municipality of Cortázar, Guanajuato.

In order to capture him, a deployment of forces was planned that would include unmanned overflights to obtain real-time images of the target, the use of seven helicopters (five Black Hawk and two Mi17), as well as 60 troops: 40 operatives and 20 crew, in addition to 40 infantrymen. The aircraft would land in a nearby terrain.

Again, images taken from a drone were shared of the place where the target was located.

It is not known if the operation was carried out, but Marro was not captured.

On March 10, another email of wiretaps to CSRL operators indicates that no concrete data was obtained on the location of the leader of the cartel dedicated to the theft of hydrocarbons, and there is talk of a failed attempt against an element of the Attorney General's Office (FGR).

In the midst of the interceptions of the communications of people close to the oil theft leader, on March 6, 2019, Angelica "N", Yépez Ortiz's sister-in-law, who is considered to be the financial operator of the criminal group, was arrested. Also arrested was Javier "N", who was an active federal intelligence police officer and the woman's alleged romantic partner, as well as another implicated person identified as Mariela "N", alias "La Chola," who was allegedly in charge of drug sales.

On March 24, 2019, military forces also arrested Agustín Medina Soto, an operator of the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel, who was the liaison with the authorities and delivered bribes to different public officials or offered money in exchange for information.

On January 29, 2020, in a joint operation by the Navy, National Guard and Guanajuato police, Karina "N", Marro's wife, was arrested in a safe house in the community of San Miguel Octopan, municipality of Celaya. Along with her were three members of the cartel, identified as Serafina "N", Alfonso "N" and César "N", who were seized with weapons used exclusively by the army and narcotics.

In the following months, Marro's mother and father were also apprehended in different operations carried out in Guanajuato, where blockades, burning of vehicles and confrontations took place. Until then, the criminal leader had managed to escape from the authorities.

But on August 2, 2020, El Marro was captured in the municipality of Santa Cruz de Juventino Rosas, along with eight other people, including the alleged head of security of the cartel, in possession of money, long and short weapons and even a grenade launcher, reported the Sedena.

At the ranch where the drug lord was being held, federal forces located a businesswoman from Apaseo El Alto, who lives in Querétaro, who had been kidnapped.

Article published on June 04, 2023 in the 1062nd edition of the weekly Ríodoce.

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