According to court records, former Cártel del Golfo (CDG, Gulf Cartel) leader Mario Armando “El Pelón” Ramírez Treviño, also known as “X-20”, died on March 13, 2025.
Cartel Background
Mario Armando Ramírez Treviño, nicknamed “El Pelón” was born March 5, 1962. He was once an investigative police officer and allegedly a former drug addict. It is unclear when he joined the CDG, although he is mentioned as having been a bodyguard of Osiel Cárdenas Guillén and was identified in 2003 as being part of the cell under the command of Gregorio “El Goyo” Sauceda Gamboa, who was head of plaza in Reynosa. When “El Goyo”, also known as “Metro 2”, was removed by force in October 2006, “Mario Pelón”, along with Flavio “El Amarillo” Méndez Santiago, was in charge of kidnapping him and his lieutenants.
Thereafter, “Mario Pelón” worked under the command of and was frequently in contact with the new head of plaza in Reynosa, Jaime “El Hummer” González Durán. By September 2008, “Mario Pelón” had received the code name “X-20” and was among the sixteen high ranking members of La Compañía that were indicted by the United States as part of Project Reckoning. Following the arrest of “El Hummer” in November 2008, “Mario Pelón” worked under Samuel “Metro 3” Flores Borrego, who had been reassigned from Miguel Alemán to Reynosa as head of plaza for the CDG. Part of La Escuela de El Metro 3, a May 2009 indictment in the United States described “Mario Pelón” as second-in-command in and around Reynosa, prompting a reward of $5 million being offered for information leading to his arrest.
It appears that “Mario Pelón” was assigned as head of plaza in Río Bravo, where he created a subgroup of underlings known as Los Panteras at some point. Furthermore, it seems that he was transferred to Ciudad Victoria around June 2010. Following the September 2, 2011 killing of “Metro 3”, “Mario Pelón” was assigned as head of plaza in Reynosa by the co-leader of the CDG, Jorge Eduardo “El Coss” Sánchez Costilla.
It was at this point that “Mario Pelón” worked with Héctor David “Metro 4” Delgado Santiago and met with Rafael “El Junior” Cárdenas Vela to discuss the killing of “Metro 3”, where it was agreed that “El Coss” was responsible. Around this timeframe, the independent Los Metros Faction was created, with “Mario Pelón” reported as its leader. In October 2011, “El Coss” loyalists, including Juan Roberto “El Primo” Rincón Rincón, code name “X-5”, and Jose Luis “El Wicho” Zúñiga Hernandez, code name “XW”, were driven out of Río Bravo and “Mario Pelón” placed members of Los Panteras as heads of plaza there and in Nuevo Progreso.
Los Zetas, who had created a stronghold in San Fernando, began attacking Valle Hermoso in November 2011, posing a threat to the Los Metros Faction from the south. In turn “Mario Pelón”, who was considered to be just as violent as the leadership of Los Zetas, if not more so, began a campaign against Los Zetas in Nuevo Laredo, Nuevo León, San Fernando, Ciudad Victoria, and southern Tamaulipas in March 2012.
Both “Mario Alberto “El Gordo” Cárdenas Guillén” and “El Coss” were arrested within a span of a week in September 2012 and many expected “Mario Pelón” to become the leader of a reunified CDG. Despite the speculation, there is no evidence that this occurred; instead the Los Metros Faction stayed independent and we see Homero “El Majadero” Cárdenas Guillén becoming leader of the CDG Matamoros Faction.
With the killing of “Metro 4” in January 2013 Miguel “El Gringo” Villarreal was blamed, although the fallout was not evident until the night of March 10, 2013. That evening, “El Gringo” and another member of La Escuela de El Metro 3, Jesús “El Puma” Ramón García, along with several of their associates were called to a meeting, where they were killed as ordered by “Mario Pelón”. Thereafter, a convoy of around 20-50 vehicles swept the city of Reynosa for several hours, killing any associates of “El Gringo” and “El Puma” that could be found in the city. Over the next few days, associates were also hunted down in the Ribereña. The death toll remains unknown, although estimates of around 60 individuals killed have been reported and possibly going as high as 150.
Five months later, 24 members of the Los Metros Faction were arrested in the municipality of Guerrero by the Mexican military. Among them were two bodyguards of “Mario Pelón” who provided officials with information to locate him and he was arrested on August 17, 2013 in Reynosa. The leadership of the Los Metros Faction becomes somewhat unclear for a period thereafter, although some would claim that “Mario Pelón” continued to lead from prison prior to being extradited to the United States in December 2017.
It should be noted that there are various alternative narratives regarding “Mario Pelón”. For instance, the killing of “Metro 3” and/or “Metro 4” have been attributed to “Mario Pelón” according to some sources. In a similar vein, there are claims that “Mario Pelón” was never truly the leader of the Los Metros Faction and was merely trying to seize power up until his arrest.
Post Extradition
In February 2019, “Mario Pelón” entered a plea agreement and has been quietly serving his prison sentence in the United States. On February 21, 2024, “Mario Pelón”, who was described as “pale, gaunt, and breathing heavily” as he was in need of a kidney and liver transplant, gave recorded testimony to authorities regarding Rubén “El Menchito” Oseguera González, who he was first imprisoned with in 2014. After being released and rearrested in June 2015, “El Menchito” was placed two cells down from “Mario Pelón”, with only Servando “La Tuta” Gómez Martínez between them.
According to “Mario Pelón”, Omar “Z-42” Treviño Morales was also imprisoned with them and at one point relayed a message from his brother Miguel Ángel “Z-40” Treviño Morales to “El Menchito”, requesting that he ask his father to sell him a ton of cocaine in Veracruz for $15 million. In addition, “Mario Pelón” testified that “El Menchito” asked him for help obtaining weapons.
“El Menchito” was extradited to the United States in February 2020 and turned down a plea agreement in May 2024. During his trial, the recorded testimony of “Mario Pelón” was played as the third witness against “El Menchito” on September 16, 2024, following the testimony of Óscar “El Lobo” Nava Valencia and Elpidio “El Pilo” Mojarro Ramírez.
On March 21, 2025 the United States entered a motion to dismiss the indictment and vacate the sentencing hearing of “Mario Pelón” in the District of Columbia as he had died on March 13, 2025. The circumstances of his death are currently unreported but one can assume it was due to his poor health.
