Gonzalo Inzunza Inzunza

Gonzalo Inzunza Inzunza
Born (1971-08-17)17 August 1971
Sinaloa, Mexico
Died 18 December 2013(2013-12-18) (aged 42)
Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, Mexico
Cause of death Gunshot wounds
Other names
Organization Sinaloa Cartel leader
Criminal charge Drug trafficking
This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Inzunza and the second or maternal family name is Inzunza.

Gonzalo Inzunza Inzunza (17 August 1971 – 18 December 2013), commonly referred to by his alias El Macho Prieto, was a Mexican drug lord and high-ranking leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, a Mexican transnational criminal organization. He worked as the cartel's assassins chief under the tutelage of Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada and as the regional leader of the cartel in the states of Baja California and Sonora. His base of operations was in Mexicali, where he coordinated marijuana and cocaine shipments through the Calexico–Mexicali border region. On 18 December 2013, Inzunza Inzunza was killed in a shootout with Mexican authorities in the resort area of Puerto Peñasco, Sonora. Before the gunfight was over, several of his gunmen took the corpse of the drug lord with them.

Early life

Inzunza Inzunza was born in Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico on 17 August 1971.[1][2][A 1] His father René Inzunza was from La Vuelta, a rural community close to Culiacán; like many others who lived in the Sinaloan countryside, his father was involved in the drug trade, but he died when Inzunza Inzunza was still a teenager.[4][5] Born into a middle-class family, Inzunza Inzunza attended grade and middle school at Colegio Sinaloa, a religious institution. He committed his first homicide when he was 19; one night during a party at his house, he shot a man dead after the man laughed at him. He fled thereafter to the state of Sonora and got involved in drug trafficking and organized crime.[4][4][6][7]

Sinaloa Cartel tenure

Inzunza Inzunza worked for the drug lord Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada as his assassins' chief,[8] and operated in Culiacán and in other regions across Sinaloa. The Mexican authorities believe that he may be responsible for over 80 murders during his tenure in Sinaloa, including the killings of at least a dozen police officers.[9][10]

Throughout his career, Inzunza Inzunza was able to avoid going to prison several times and intimidate law enforcement; one time in the late 1990s, two patrol cars from the Federal Ministerial Police (PFM) went into a neighborhood where Inzunza Inzunza was staying to carry out an arrest warrant. Though the police were going after a person uninvolved with the drug lord, his triggermen stopped the PFM cars and ordered them to call their boss. When the police commander arrived at the scene minutes later, Inzunza Inzunza walked up to him and smacked him several times, telling him he had no permission to be in his territory and to never stop by again. When the drug lord ordered them to leave, his gunmen took away their weapons for a couple of days.[4] On 12 November 2002 in Culiacán, the Federal Preventive Police (PFP) intercepted a convoy of gunmen in which Inzunza Inzunza was traveling. A shootout eventually broke out, resulting in the death of four policemen and one gunmen. However, Inzunza Inzunza managed to escape the scene.[11] Three years later on April 2005, Inzunza Inzunza intimidated several police officers who were patrolling his neighborhood and forced them to return to their headquarters. On 5 May 2005, Inzunza Inzunza travelled to Mazatlán to attend a rehab center for his drug addiction. While heading there, he was arrested by the Mazatlán Municipal Police with eight of his men.[4] The police confiscated several assault rifles, handguns, grenades, and grenade launchers. The arrest of Inzunza Inzunza was initially reported by a photojournalist who managed to take a picture of him, but the drug lord never made it to prison; unconfirmed reports stated that he bribed the police to avoid going to jail.[11][12] He escaped with Ismael Bernal Cristerna (alias "El Mongol"), but he was later killed by Inzunza Inzunza in 2013 because the drug lord feared betrayal.[4]

Cartel infighting

The decline of Inzunza Inzunza's hegemony in the Sinaloa Cartel began in May 2008 when Édgar Guzmán López, son of "El Chapo" Guzmán, was killed by gunmen in Culiacán. During that time, the Sinaloa Cartel was engaged in an internal power struggle with the Beltrán Leyva Cartel. Alfredo Beltrán Leyva was captured by the Mexican Army in January 2008, and his brothers Arturo, Carlos, and Héctor had suspicions that Guzmán had tipped authorities to Alfredo's whereabouts. In an apparent revenge attack, the Beltrán Leyva Cartel reportedly killed Guzmán's son. However, there are also reports that Inzunza Inzunza might have possibly killed Guzmán López after confusing him with a member of a rival cartel. This episode complicated Inzunza Inzunza's business relationship with "El Mayo" Zambada, who turned his back on him and refused to give him protection.[4][13] Around 2010, he was transferred by the top echelons of the Sinaloa Cartel to the states of Baja California and Sonora. His base of operations was in Mexicali, where he coordinated drug trafficking activities.[14] He oversaw Mexicali alongside Cenobio Flores Pacho and/or Luis Fernando Castro Villa (alias "El Checo"), a Sinaloa Cartel associate.[15] The drug lord also oversaw the areas of San Luis Río Colorado, Puerto Peñasco, Nogales, Sonoyta, and Caborca in Sonora.[16][17] His operational capacity also reached the states of Chiapas, Quintana Roo, Nayarit, Jalisco, and Sinaloa.[18] With the help of his brother, who is identified by Mexican authorities by his alias "El Peque", Inzunza Inzunza received large quantities of narcotics in Sinaloa from South America.[17] He also had three major smuggling routes across Mexico that he oversaw to move narcotics to the United States. The first route was through a smuggling network that started in Venezuela, crossed through Honduras, Costa Rica, and ended in Sinaloa. The second route started in Chiapas and connected that state with Acapulco, Mexico City, Jalisco, and ended in the U.S. The third and final route started in Sinaloa, crossed through Sonora, Mexicali, Tijuana and ended north of the U.S.-Mexico border.[19] Inzunza Inzunza was known for using violence to exercise control in the territories he oversaw for the Sinaloa Cartel to move marijuana and cocaine through the Calexico–Mexicali corridor.[20]

Aside from coordinating drug trafficking shipments, Inzunza Inzunza was responsible for stopping incursions and fighting off rival drug trafficking organizations in Sonora. In particular, the drug lord commanded his forces against the Beltrán Leyva Cartel, which was undergoing a gradual resurgence.[21][22] In early 2011, Inzunza Inzunza fled the area of Mexicali and relocated in Baja California after Manuel Torres Félix (alias "The Crazy One") wanted him dead for the "unapproved" murder of Paulo Osorio Payán (alias "El Pablo"), one of his associates. From his safe house in Tijuana, Baja California, the drug lord gave orders in Mexicali. When Torres Félix was killed in a gunfight with the Mexican Army in Sinaloa on October 2012, Inzunza Inzunza returned to Mexicali to help his business partner "El Checo".[23][24] Inzunza Inzunza's tenure in Mexicali was disrupted in 2012 by a group known as "Los Garibay", which was controlled by José Manuel Garibay Félix (alias "El Manuelón" and/or "El Gordo"), a drug trafficker from the Sinaloa Cartel who joined forces with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) while serving prison time in Jalisco. The infighting resulted in multiple killings in Mexicali and the surrounding areas that year.[25][26] On 23 February 2013, however, Mexican authorities discovered the corpse of Garibay Félix on a highway near Guadalajara, Jalisco. His body bore signs of torture and a bullet hole in the head, usual signs to distinguish common murders from killings committed by organized crime.[27] His death caused the CJNG to break away from its loose connection with the Sinaloa Cartel and operate independently in Jalisco in efforts to fight the Sinaloans for the control of the drug market in the state.[28]

Bounty

Inzunza Inzunza, also known by his aliases of El Macho Prieto, El MP, El Once, Gonzalo Inzunza Araujo, and/or Bernabé León Andrade, was placed on the most-wanted drug traffickers list under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act by the U.S. government on 1 June 2011, along with Manuel Torres Félix, another high-ranking lieutenant of the Sinaloa Cartel.[29][30] This act prohibited U.S. citizens from doing any kind of business deal with the drug lord and froze its assets.[31] The Procuraduría General de la República (PGR) offered up to $3 million Mexican pesos ($USD 230,000) for information leading to their arrests.[32] Inzunza Inzunza was among Mexico's 122 most-wanted criminals, according to the list provided by the PGR database.[33] He had three arrests warrants in Mexico and a provisional detention request with extradition purposes from the U.S. government for pending drug trafficking charges.[34]

Death

Inzunza Inzunza was killed in a gunfight with Mexican Marines in Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, on 18 December 2013.[35][36] The Sonora authorities confirmed that the shootout, which occurred at around 04:00 A.M. that day, left a total of five dead and three vehicles incinerated.[16] Authorities confirmed that two gunmen were killed on the scene during the firefight, while two others died by wrecking their vehicle while attempting to flee the crime scene; the remaining gunman died of gunshot wound complications.[37] Preliminary reports stated that gunmen held several hostages at a hotel during the raging gunfire, but the Sonora authorities denied the authenticity of these initial reports.[38] The shootout was reported to have lasted at least four hours. An eye-witness close to the crime scene said to the press that a police helicopter was involved in the fire exchange from mid-air with the gunmen, who fired at the chopper from the ground.[39]

According to initial reports, the incident began when the Mexican authorities chased a white Chevrolet pick-up truck in Sonoyta, Sonora following a reported homicide; the police later caught up to the vehicle in Puerto Peñasco after the men in the vehicle opened fire on them.[40][41] Other reports issued a few days after the shooting stated that Mexican authorities raided the property where the drug lord was staying after they had tracked down his location.[42] Following the shootout, the local authorities ordered the school district of Puerto Peñasco to suspend classes for the day.[43] The U.S. Consulate in Nogales, Sonora, issued a travel warning through Twitter advising U.S. tourists to stay indoors until the gunfire was over.[44] Puerto Peñasco (known in English as "Rocky Point") is Sonora's major tourist attraction and a common hotspot for U.S. citizens given its 50 mi (80.4 km) proximity from the U.S.-Mexico border.[38][45]

Investigation and aftermath

On 19 December 2013, Mexican authorities confirmed in a press conference that the corpse of Inzunza Inzunza was stolen by alleged gunmen of the Sinaloa Cartel during the shootout. Investigators, however, identified the drug lord due to the DNA tests conducted at the crime scene.[46][47] Authorities were also able to intercept the phone call lines of the criminals involved in the shootout and confirm that the drug lord was killed.[42] The Peñasco city spokesman confirmed a couple of days later that the shootout begun precisely inside the Bella Sirena complex, a beachfront villa where Inzunza Inzunza was possibly staying for the holidays. He insisted that neither the drug lord nor any of his men involved in the shootout lived in Peñasco. Mexican authorities also provided more details of the shootout in the days following the gunfight; they confirmed that two Black Hawk helicopters were used in the operation, and that there were at least 10 vehicles of the alleged gunmen of the Sinaloa Cartel present during the fire exchange. The police confirmed that they found 14 high-calibre assault rifles at the scene. They also confirmed that five criminals were killed in the shootout (not six, as stated by other sources) and two officers were wounded.[48][49] The authorities also confirmed that they had an undercover federal agent staying at the complex where Inzunza Inzunza was hiding for about 15 days prior to the shooting. By spying on him throughout the day and passing that information to his counterparts, authorities were able to use those intelligence reports to hunt down the drug lord.[42]

Investigators believe that some of the top leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel might have tipped off the authorities as to Inzunza Inzunza's whereabouts. This line of investigation alleges that during his time in the cartel, Inzunza Inzunza killed "people of his same company" and then denied culpability. Therefore, investigators believe that given the drug lord's disobedience in the eyes of his leaders, the cartel gave the order to execute him in the first days of December 2013. The leaders reportedly decided to oust Inzunza Inzunza by betraying his whereabouts to the Mexican government in a plan to get him arrested or killed.[50][51]

See also

Sources

Footnotes

  1. ↑ His birth certificate is from Culiacán but other records state that he was born in Navolato, Sinaloa.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "Recent OFAC Actions". Office of Foreign Assets Control. Archived from the original on 13 December 2012. Retrieved 13 December 2012.
  2. ↑ "Era considerado un sicario sanguinario". Noroeste (in Spanish). 20 December 2013. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  3. ↑ "El Macho Prieto y su alto rango dentro del Cártel de Sinaloa". Viva Voz (in Spanish). 18 December 2013. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "El destino de un sicario". Ríodoce (in Spanish). 22 December 2013. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  5. ↑ Cabrera Martínez, Javier (8 June 2007). "Badiraguato, mina de oro desde los gomeros". El Universal (Mexico City) (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  6. ↑ López-Dóriga, Joaquín (19 December 2013). "Confirman muerte del líder del Cártel de Sinaloa en Peñasco". Radio Fórmula (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  7. ↑ "Los hombres de El Chapo". Zeta (magazine) (in Spanish). 22 December 2011. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  8. ↑ García Solís, Georgina (16 April 2011). "Detienen en Jardines del Valle a 13 presuntos sicarios auspiciados por el cártel de Sinaloa". La Jornada (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 13 December 2012. Retrieved 13 December 2012.
  9. ↑ "Roban cuerpo de El Macho Prieto". Zócalo Saltillo (in Spanish). 20 December 2013. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  10. ↑ Chivis (18 December 2013). "Mayo Zambada's Sicario Chief, "El Macho Prieto" Reported Killed". Borderland Beat. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  11. 1 2 "El Macho Prieto ha mostrado ser escurridizo en Sinaloa". El Debate (in Spanish). 21 December 2013. Archived from the original on 21 December 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
  12. ↑ "La PGR pone al Ondeado y el Macho Prieto en su lista de recompensas" (PDF). Última Palabra, via Ríodoce (in Spanish). 18 December 2013. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  13. ↑ Pachico, Elyssa (1 February 2011). "How the Beltran Leyva, Sinaloa Cartel Feud Bloodied Mexico". InSight Crime. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  14. ↑ "Matan a Gonzalo Inzunza, "El Macho Prieto", en Puerto Peñasco". Ríodoce (in Spanish). 18 December 2013. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  15. ↑ "Los 8 de Sinaloa". Zeta (magazine) (in Spanish). 8 April 2013. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  16. 1 2 "Abaten a "El Macho Prieto" en Sonora". Zeta (magazine) (in Spanish). 18 December 2013. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  17. 1 2 "Pugna de células en Mexicali". Zeta (magazine) (in Spanish). 4 March 2013. Archived from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  18. ↑ "Tenía "Macho Prieto" orden de extradición en EU: CSN". El Universal (Mexico City) (in Spanish). 20 December 2013. Archived from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  19. ↑ "Pusieron a El Macho Prieto". Zeta (magazine) (in Spanish). 24 December 2013. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  20. ↑ Heras, Antonio (18 December 2013). "Abate Marina a 'El Macho Prieto', lugarteniente de El Chapo". Proceso (magazine) (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  21. ↑ "Roban cuerpo de jefe de sicarios de 'El Mayo' Zambada". Ríodoce (in Spanish). 20 December 2013. Archived from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  22. ↑ Parkinson, Charles (15 November 2013). "US Treasury Designations Point to Beltran Leyva Revival". InSight Crime. Archived from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  23. ↑ "Los Capos de Mexicali". Zeta (magazine) (in Spanish). 10 December 2012. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  24. ↑ "Mexican army kills Sinaloa cartel leader". Fox News. 13 October 2012. Archived from the original on 13 October 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  25. ↑ "Pelean Mexicali "El Macho" y "Los Garibay". Zeta (in Spanish). 6 August 2012. Archived from the original on 13 December 2012. Retrieved 13 December 2012.
  26. ↑ "Dos grupos del Cártel de Sinaloa se pelean la plaza de Mexicali". El Debate (in Spanish). 15 August 2012. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  27. ↑ Carreño Figueras, José (1 March 2013). "Alertan de más violencia entre cárteles; vaticinan disputa por ruta de droga". Excélsior (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  28. ↑ "Nuevos cárteles amenazan a organización de 'El Chapo'; ya no es intocable: Stratfor". Proceso (magazine) (in Spanish). 7 August 2013. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  29. ↑ "La PGR ofrece tres millones por el 'Macho Prieto' y 'El Ondeado'". Ríodoce (in Spanish). 27 September 2011. Archived from the original on 13 December 2012. Retrieved 13 December 2012.
  30. ↑ "Abatieron federales a El Macho Prieto". Zócalo Saltillo (in Spanish). 18 December 2013. Archived from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  31. ↑ Gómez Licón, Adriana (19 December 2013). "Top Sinaloa trafficker killed in Mexico gunbattle". Salon (magazine). The Associated Press. Archived from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  32. ↑ "Dos integrantes del cártel de Sinaloa en lista de cabecillas del narco en EU". Milenio (in Spanish). Notimex. 1 June 2011. Archived from the original on 13 December 2012. Retrieved 13 December 2012.
  33. ↑ Quesada, Juan Diego (19 December 2013). "México golpea a Los Zetas". El País (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  34. ↑ "Tenía 'Macho Prieto' orden de extradición a EU, informa la CNS". El Siglo de Torreón (in Spanish). 20 December 2013. Archived from the original on 21 December 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
  35. ↑ "Extraoficialmente abaten a "El Macho Prieto" en Puerto Peñasco". El Debate de Sinaloa (in Spanish). 18 December 2013. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  36. ↑ "Confirman muerte del 'Macho Prieto' en Puerto Peñasco". Noroeste (in Spanish). 19 December 2013. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  37. ↑ "Rocky Point shooting: 5 dead in shootout in northern Mexico resort". KNXV-TV. 18 December 2013. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  38. 1 2 Wilkinson, Tracy (18 December 2013). "Mexico violence kills 10, including five teens at bus stop". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  39. ↑ Wagner, Dennis (18 December 2013). "5 dead after Rocky Point gunbattle involving police, official says". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  40. ↑ Salzwedel, Sam (18 December 2013). "Americans worry about Rocky Point's reputation after shooting". KVOA. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  41. ↑ White, Brian (18 December 2013). "At least 4 dead in Rocky Point gunfight". KVOA. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  42. 1 2 3 García, Sergio (21 December 2013). "Tenía una "sombra" El Macho Prieto". El Universal (Mexico City) (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 22 December 2013. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  43. ↑ García, Sergio (18 December 2013). "Suman cinco muertos tras balacera en Puerto Peñasco". El Universal (Mexico City) (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  44. ↑ "Enfrentamiento en Sonora deja cinco muertos, EU emite alerta". Excélsior (in Spanish). 18 December 2013. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  45. ↑ Marizo, Michel (18 December 2013). "Five Killed In Puerto Peñasco Tourist Zone Gun Battle". Fronteras Desk. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  46. ↑ Alzaga, Ignacio (19 December 2013). "Roban cuerpo de operador de 'El Mayo'". Milenio (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  47. ↑ Muedano, Marcos (19 December 2013). "Roban cuerpo de presunto operador del "Chapo", abatido en Sonora". El Universal (Mexico City) (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  48. ↑ "Helicopter gunships used in Mexico resort battle". The Sacramento Bee. The Associated Press. 20 December 2013. Archived from the original on 21 December 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
  49. ↑ "Enfrentamiento en Sonora deja seis muertos". Proceso (magazine) (in Spanish). 18 December 2013. Archived from the original on 21 December 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
  50. ↑ "Pusieron a Gonzalo Inzunza, El Macho Prieto". Ríodoce (in Spanish). 26 December 2013. Archived from the original on 26 December 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  51. ↑ "El Macho Prieto, víctima de sus propios excesos". Proceso (magazine) (in Spanish). 24 December 2013. Archived from the original on 26 December 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2013.

Bibliography

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