The Crimes of Alfredo Beltrán Guzmán - In English

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The following is an exclusive story given to Borderland Beat. It contains some information which has never been published before. The information came to us from someone known by the codename ‘Shelby’, who we know to have personal knowledge of the incidents described below.

Further information added by Borderland Beat will be noted in blue text, under “More Details”.

We have also decided to release a Spanish version of this article to inform readers of both languages.

Alfredo Beltrán Guzmán

Parentage

He is the son of Alfredo Beltrán Leyva, alias “El Mochomo”, and Patricia Guzmán Núñez.

Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera, alias “El Chapo” is his great uncle.

Aliases

• Mochomito
• Alfredito
• Tito
• Dientito
• Dos Banderas 
• Traidor

The Beginning of Mochomito’s Criminal History

▪Between 2006 to 2007, El Mochomito sold kilos of cocaine and pounds of methamphetamine for his father, El Mochomo, which earned him between $1,000 and $2,000 per kilo.

▪ After Mochomo was arrested in 2008, El Chapo planned to have El Mochomito executed, but Chapo held back on giving the order because he did not want the Beltrán Leyvas to retaliate by assassinating the sons of the Sinaloa Cartel leaders.

Chapo also held back on giving the order due to the pleading of Ernesto Guzmán Hidalgo, who is Chapo's half brother and El Mochomito's grandfather. Ernesto Guzmán advocated on Mochomito’s behalf and promised Chapo that his grandson would not participate in the war, or support his uncle Arturo Beltrán.

They spoke directly with El Mochomito. He promised them that he would be neutral and not pass information to the Beltran cartel nor to his uncle Chapo. This allowed him to move between territories controlled by both cartels without being bothered.

Despite his promise, Mochomito discreetly passed information to Chapo about his rivals. Chapo came to believe that he was passing similar information to his uncle Arturo, so Chapo never really trusted Mochomito. 

More Details

News reports vary on how Ernesto was related to Chapo. In a 2015 article, Noroeste alleged that Ernesto was not related to Chapo by blood, but was simply raised alongside Chapo, as if he was his brother. In 2015, La Jornada wrote Ernesto was Chapo’s half brother. In a 2016 article, El Pais wrote that Ernesto was Chapo’s half brother.

The aforementioned Jornada article also stated that Ernesto is the father of Patricia Guzmán Núñez and she is El Mochomito’s mother. This would seem to confirm that Ernesto was the grandfather of El Mochomito.

▪ In 2010, after the execution of Manuel Fernandez Valencia's son, the Guzmans sent for El Mochomito and gave him an ultimatum: hand over El Guacho to them or they would no longer protect him. 

They told Mochomito that other members of the Sinaloa Cartel wanted his head. They said that the Beltrans had killed a young man from the Sinaloa Cartel, so now other Sinaloa Cartel people were asking them to kill Mochomito as payback (which was not 100% true). 

They then repeated their offer. Mochomito could either hand over Guacho to them or he would be forced to leave Culiacan and become an enemy of the Sinaloa Cartel. 

El Mochomito immediately agreed to work with them. He called El Guacho and told him that he needed to see him in Culiacan, but asked him to please go alone. El Mochomito told Guacho that he would meet him at a house which had been pre-approved by the Guzmans. 

El Guacho arrived and he drove his truck into the garage, but he had not traveled there alone like El Mochomito requested. Instead Guacho had a bodyguard with him.  El Mochomito was waiting for Guacho at the door. The men greeted each other and took a step inside, then hitmen pounced on Guacho, struggling to pin him down. Guacho shouted in surprise, calling for El Mochomito to help. 

Guacho’s bodyguard, who was waiting inside the truck, heard the shouting, so he stepped out of the vehicle with a rifle in hand. El Mochomito, now carrying an Ak-47, shot the bodyguard dead. 

Ultimately, it was Alfredo Beltrán Guzmán who handed over Israel Rincón Martinez, alias "El Guacho", a faithful cartel member who worked under his father. He summoned El Guacho so the Guzman’s could kill him, and in doing this, El Mochomito betrayed his father, uncle, and their side of the conflict. 

Occupation

▪ He will kill for payment; he is a killer for hire. He has a group of hitmen under his command who are responsible for extorting local businesses and collecting quotas. He charges a certain amount, in pesos, for the use of his group of hitmen. People pay for their use so they have executions carried out or collect debts. 

 

▪ He also works as a reseller of fentanyl pills, selling to people living in Culiacan.

▪ He pretends to be a capo and he claims to be the heir of the Beltran Leyva cartel, but the reality is that he has never worked a day in his life.

▪ He has always been financially supported by other people, some of his supporters are friends, some are loyalists to his father. People who financially support or have supported him include:

○ Abraham Rodriguez, who lends out his properties to Mochomito, giving him access to houses and ranches located in Guadalajara, Jalisco, and in Culiacan, Sinaloa.

○ "El Músico", Arturo BL's people. Recently, Mochomito’s relationship with El Músico has become strained because they were both with a woman named Dulce A. Mochomito has stated publicly that he wants to kill El Músico. 

More Details

El Músico is allegedly the brother-in-law of Arturo Beltran Leyva. Músico is currently considered to be an important and wealthy figure within the BLO structure. He has paid for a whole host of corridos extolling his virtues. 

○ Neto Roca. El Mochomito has always borrowed money from him and never paid him back.

More Details 

Neto Roca is an influential BLO figure. Narco corridos commissioned by Neto Roca refer to his friendship with “the son of Alfredo”.

Neto Roca allegedly survived being shot 6 times in an attempt on his life. He later commissioned a corrido, which is called “6 Impactos”, which detailed the attack. 

○ A financial supporter who comes from the state of Chihuahua.

 

The Crimes of El Mochomito

▪ In 2010, Chapo had his gunmen kidnap Saltiel Beltrán Loera, the half-brother of El Mochomito. Chapo’s men later called El Mochomito and they arranged a meeting with him where they asked if he had any problems with the kidnapping of his brother. El Mochomito replied that he didn’t have any because he never felt as if he had a brother and it was all fine with him. By saying this, he betrayed his own blood.

More Details

WRadio reported the alleged kidnapping of Saltiel on July 1, 2010. US prosecutors listed Saltiel as one of men Chapo had conspired to murder in a bill of particulars they issued in Chapo’s US legal proceedings.

▪ In 2010, Mochomito pressured a person he knew to give up the location of Raul Meza Torres, alias "El Mini Seis”. They finally relented and gave him the details. Mochomito then paid some Guadalajara policemen to kill Mini Seis as retribution for his earlier attempt to kill Neto Roca at a bar called “Happy Beer” in Culiacan.

More Details

César Raúl Meza Torres, alias “El Mini Seis”, was the son of Sinaloa Cartel figure Raúl Meza Ontiveros, alias “El M6”. His uncles were Javier Torres Félix, alias "El JT", and Manuel Torres Félix, alias "El M1". He was also the brother of Ovidio Guzman’s wife Adriana Meza Torres. 

At some point in his teenage years, Mini Seis is believed to have joined the Sinaloa Cartel. He was killed in Zapopan in April 2010, when he was 19 years old, during an alleged “routine” traffic stop that turned confrontational.

▪ Army Major Alfredo Mejía Pérez repeatedly raided and arrested men working on the gas theft operation run by Mochomito’s grandfather Ernesto Guzmán Hidalgo. In 2015, as a favor for his grandfather, Mochomito had his men kidnap and kill Alfredo Mejia. Mejía Pérez was not only a former Army Major but also the former chief of the state police.

More Details

Media outlet RPP reports that Mejía Pérez was kidnapped from a farm in Culiacan municipality by a group of heavily armed men. They write that Mejía Pérez was found half naked, with multiple gunshot wounds, with a large number of 5.56 shell casings nearby. 

▪ In 2015, Mochomito had Rubén Valdez Salas, alias “El Chapito Barrial”, executed in Culiacán, Sinaloa.

More Details

Noroeste writes that Chapito Barrial was shot by a group of gunmen who were sitting inside a van in the Tres Ríos neighborhood of Culiacan, in November 2015. Chapito Barrial, who was 21 years old at the time, died on scene and his romantic partner, who was walking alongside him, was injured.

▪ In 2015, Mochomito’s grandfather Ernesto Guzmán Hidalgo was murdered and Mochomito swore revenge, declaring war on Aureliano Guzmán Loera, alias “El Guano”. 

More Details

According to RioDoce, Ernesto was kidnapped in Badiraguato in April 2015, by one of El Guano’s lieutenants, Cristóbal Muro Váldez, aliases “El 02” and “M-2”. 

Noroeste describes the killing of Ernesto as a shoot out. In contrast, in RioDoce’s version of events, Ernesto was kidnapped, tortured, and executed. An Entreveredas article also alleged Ernesto was tortured writing that “Ernesto's corpse had visible traces of torture, he had both index fingers amputated, they were found inside the pockets of the blue jeans that he was wearing that day.”

Zeta Tijuana also alleges he was tortured, but writes that only one of his index finger was cut off and left in a pocket, saying it symbolized an accusation of having informed on a criminal to law enforcement. 

As far as motive goes, Entreveredas writes Ernesto was killed in a “settling of scores” and that “Ernesto was not trusted by the Guzman Loera structure because was the father of Patricia Guzmán Núñez.” 

An October 2016 RioDoce article claims that El Guano “chose to order the death” as punishment for Ernesto allegedly “collaborating with the government to capture him.” The article also claims that “once Chapo was released, the first thing he did was meet with Guano, slapped him on the face and said that he had approved the death of his own brother [Ernesto].”

▪ In 2016, Mochomito ordered the execution of Héctor Raúl Benítez Verdugo, the former Secretary of Public Security for Culiacan. He did this because Benitez Verdugo, shortly after he took office, changed the shifts and division assignments of two corrupt police patrol units who were acting as Mochomito’s personal bodyguards. By changing the shifts and moving them, he effectively disbanded them, making it impossible for them to protect Mochomito while on duty.

More Details

After two years in the position, Benítez Verdugo was dismissed as Head of Security just six days before he was gunned down near his vehicle in May 2016. Benítez Verdugo and his cousin had just arrived home when two hitmen with AK-47 rifles opened fire on them. 18 shell casings were found on scene. 

An old Borderland Beat post alleged that a narco-corrido dedicated to Pedro Avilés was played during Benítez Verdugo’s funeral ceremony.

▪ In 2016, Mochomito orchestrated the attack on La Tuna, Badiraguato, which killed several people. The attack was Mochomito’s attempt to find and kill El Guano. The attack was led by the son of El 02, the former gunman of El Guano, [who killed Ernesto]. The Guzmans had him executed in 2015.

More Details 

A RioDoce article claims that shortly after the death of Ernesto, Chapo spoke with Mochomito and promised him that his death would not go unpunished. 

In December 2015, El 02 was attacked by hitmen in La Tuna, Badiraguato. He was killed alongside eight others, including relatives of his such as Geber Manuel Valdez Muro, 29, and Germán Muro Sepúlveda, 21. Later that month, El 02’s brother, Luis Alberto Muro Váldez was allegedly killed inside prison, but the death was officially classified as a suicide. 

The 2016 La Tuna attack which is referred to is one of the most heavily covered events in cartel history. RioDoce and Anabel Hernández (writing for Proceso Magazine) both wrote that Mochomito orchestrated this attack on La Tuna.

▪ In 2016, El Mochomito attended a series of meetings that took place in Mexico City. The meetings were intended to make a temporary alliance against los Chapitos . The outcome of the meetings was the kidnapping of Chapitos in Puerto Vallarta. 

The Chapitos hatched a plan to get back at El Mochomito. The Chapitos ordered Juan José Esparragoza, alias “El Azulito”, to summon his nephew, Mochomito, to Guadalajara, Jalisco. Azulito did as he was told and Mochomito traveled to Guadalajara, fully trusting his uncle Azulito. 

Mochomito went to the meeting location but he found himself surrounded by Federal Police who the Chapitos had paid to execute him. Mochomito and the young men who he brought with him ran away from the Federal Police, screaming, and bystanders began to realize what was happening. This forced the Federal Police to not go through with the execution and instead they just arrested him.

More Details

According to Proceso, Mochomito was arrested on December 9, 2016 along with four other people, in Zapopan, Jalisco. Police officers alleged that Mochomito and his men were carrying three kilos grams of cocaine, 2 long-barrel firearms, 3 handguns, ammo, and a frag grenade. 

Mochomito was convicted on charges related to the possession of cocaine for commercial purposes and the possession of a firearm for the exclusive use of the military. On April 25, 2018, he was sentenced to serve 10 years in prison. He was sent to Puente Grande prison. His lawyers appealed the verdict however the sentence was upheld on June 28, 2018.

 

▪ Someone supported Mochomito financially during his time in prison, enabling Mochomito to still live the life of a capo even while behind bars by paying off the prison guards.

More Details

In 2019, a different appeal case filed Mochomito’s lawyers succeeded in annulling his ten year prison sentence and he scheduled to be resentenced. La Silla Rota wrote that in September 2020, he was transferred from Puente Grande to Jalisco Metropolitan Prison. In September 2021, Mochomito was released from prison, after only serving five years of his original ten year sentence.

▪ In 2022, Mochomito was released from prison and the first thing he did was to ask his benefactor for 2 million pesos, which he was given. He used the money to buy an armored truck and he drove straight back to Culiacan, where the Chapitos were waiting for him, just like they were before. 

The Chapitos yet again pressured Mochomito, this time to give up the secretario [personal aid] of an enemy of theirs, so Mochomito ordered his man, specifically El Guero Quinto, to talk to "AMIGO", which was the alias of the guy [the secretario]. El Guero Quinto asked to meet El Amigo in the city of Guadalajara. 

El Amigo went to the meeting and greeted El Guero Quinto and Irving. He told them to wait for him, he was going to pick something up and he would be back in 15 minutes. El Amigo went to pick up 150,000 pesos [from an ATM], intending to give the money to El Guero Quinto and Irving because Amigo knew Mochomito didn’t pay them and they were starving. When Amigo returned, gift in hand, the two men forced him to surrender and tied him up. 

Mochomito’s men drove Amigo to los Chapitos, who proceeded to torture him. When they were done, they had his dead body dumped somewhere in Obregon, Sonora, alongside a message. So once again Mochomito betrayed the one who fed him. 

As reward, Los Chapitos gave El Mochomito 10 kilos of cocaine and gave him authorization to bring his hitmen into Culiacan.

More Details 

There are a number of dead bodies which fit the description of how El Amigo’s remains were left. On January 9, 2022, the remains of a man were found in the Urbi Villa del Rey area of Obregon, Sonora. He was wrapped in a blue coverlet and a blue bed sheet. He was said to have “visible signs of torture. Opinion Sonora writes that a narco-message sign written on white cardboard was left alongside his body. 

On May 8, 2022, the remains of a man were found in the Valle Verde neighborhood of Obregon. He was wrapped in black plastic and a quilt, with duct tape binding his hands. A bright green cardboard narco-message sign was left next to him, along with “two photographs of two women and a man”, according to Opinion Sonora. 

On June 6, 2022, a dead man was found in the Yaqui Valley neighborhood of northern Obregon. He was wrapped in a black blanket, with a yellow narco message sign. 

On July 1, 2022, the remains of a man was found in the Libertad area of Obregon. His body was laid out on a blanket, with his hands and feet bound with yellow nylon rope. He appeared to have several gunshot wounds. A narco-message sign was with his remains. 

On September 26, 2022, the dead body of a man was found in Yaqui Valley, Obregon. The man had been decapitated and his head was left inside a foam ice chest. Unfortunately, there are few photos of many of these potential matches and none of the narco-message texts were published, so further narrowing down the list is difficult.

▪ El Mochomito ordered the kidnapping of two people: a person named Jaime L. and Jaime’s lawyer. Mochomito held them for ransom and eventually took 1 million dollars from them. He eventually released them on the condition that they were going to be paying him a fee every month from now on.

Facts about Mochomito, As a Person

-He has a very mild degree of autism.

-He is afraid of dogs. 

-He has obsessive-compulsive disorder - everything has to be in perfect order.

Properties Allegedly Related to Mochomito

A house in La Campiña neighborhood of Culiacán, Sinaloa 

A house in the Montebello neighborhood, Culiacán, Sinaloa 

A private office in La Cantera subdivision, Culiacán, Sinaloa

Two ranches in Huertos del Pedregal, Culiacán municipality, Sinaloa

A ranch near El Limón de los Ramos, Culiacán municipality, Sinaloa

Private Performance

In the videos shown below, Mochomito can be seen, in the bottom right hand side, watching a private performance by the singer Alfredo Olivas.

Alfredo Olivas was a money launderer for his father and uncle. They all worked for the organization La Plaza, based in Obregon, Sonora. 

Shortly after los Salazars killed the uncle of Alfredo Olivas, Alfredo’s father, alias “El Alfa” betrayed La Plaza and joined up with the Chapitos organization and los Salazars even though they had previously tried to kill him several times.

Alfredo Olivas' brother, a singer, was killed in Guadalajara for kidnapping, and now Alfredo Olivas' father lives in Sinaloa, and Alfredito Olivas is already performing at the Chapitos' parties. The video I sent you is from December at Guzmans' Posada [a religious festival celebrated in Mexico during December, an opportunity to party].

More Details

Alfredo Olivas’s father is Alfredo Olivas Sr, a powerful cartel figure in the city of Obregon, Sonora. The uncle of Alfredo Jr that was killed is likely referring to Trinidad Olivas Valenzuela, alias “Chapo Trini”, who was killed in 2017.

Update 8:30 CST

Another reliable source contacted us and wanted to clarify some discrepancies. They said: 

El Guacho arrived at his meeting with Mochomito with just one bodyguard who was the one who Mochomito killed. 

But as soon as they tied him up, he gave the location of two of his gunmen who were in another safe house and Guzman's people went looking for them too. That's why they had a total of 3 they were torturing - El Guacho inside the bathroom and outside, tied to the trees, two of his gunmen. 

In fact, they also kidnapped El Guacho's wife. Her name is Aislyn Araujo. She is the sister of Gonzalito Araujo, who was Arturo Beltran's gunman. And when Aislyn was abducted, Chapo raped her by force and she was later released.

Sources: Hyperlinked within the text.

Special thanks to SoCalj, Redlogarythm, Enojon, and Ivan.

To read the information that codename Shelby shared about Ivan Archivaldo Guzman, click here.