Sunday, August 2, federal and state authorities announced El Marro’s arrest. Now, Juan Rodolfo Yépez Godoy and Rodolfo Yépez Ortiz, his father and brother, could take over the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel and continue the turf war the local cartel launched against the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel (CJNG) in Guanajuato.
Federal forces and state authorities arrested “El Marro” on early Sunday. The infamous cartel boss vowed to wreak havoc in Guanajuato after authorities arrested his mother and sister. He threatened President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on two occasions.
According to an intelligence report from the navy and army, federal authorities have arrested the majority of El Marro’s inner circle, including Fabián “El Vieja” Lara Barman and Noé “El Puma” Lara Barman. “El Puma” joined the CJNG after co-founding the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel.
According to the documents, around 162 people form the local cartel. They include El Marro’s family, inner circle, financial operators, and others. They carry out fuel theft and drug sell operations, as well as surveillance.
El Marro’s inner circle is formed by Fernando Juárez Morelos, “El Pantera;” Eliseo Gutiérrez Belman, “Titis;” Fabián Lara Belman, “El Vieja;” Noé Israel Lara Belman, “El Puma;” Jesús Eduardo Linares, “El Triste;” José Manuel Félix Azueta, “El Meño;” Israel Lara Ruiz Castro, “El Nacaro.” Authorities have arrested all of them.
Nevertheless, authorities haven’t arrested José Mario Lara Mendoza, aka “El Magia.” Lara Mendoza’s brother is Juan Lara Mendoza, the Villagrán mayor.
The intelligence report indicates Angélica Mora Villalobos, “Angie;” Adán González Ochoa, “El Payki” or “El Gordo,” and María Guadalupe Ruiz Lara, “Pilly” are the cartel’s main financial operations. It adds that El Marro’s sister, Karen Lizbeth Yépez Ortiz, is in charge of purchasing properties. Eduardo Aguado, Jorge Enrique Peña Cuevas, “El Hulk,” and Mauricio Garcés Sotelo, “El Sotelo,” worked as straw-men.
The reports also deals with the cartel boss’ love life. It explains El Marro had relationships with four different women: María Luisa Cervantes, Karen Molina Villalobos, Andrea Magdalena Cervantes Ariza, and Elsa Marisol Martínez Prieto. They all worked as financial operators.
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The war against the CJNG
David Rogel Figueroa, “El Güero,” founded the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel in 2014 and their main criminal activity was fuel theft.
According to federal authorities, the criminal organization gained notoriety when “El Marro” became the cartel boss. In 2017, it launched a war against the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel to control fuel theft, drug sales, kidnapping, and extortion in the area.
The cartel was named after the Santa Rosa de Lima community where its leaders hail from. It has control over clandestine fuel taps and illegal fuel sales in the state.
The Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel operates in Celaya, Salamanca, Santa Cruz, Juventino Rosas, Irapuato, Valle de Santiago, and Villagrán.
According to recent intelligence reports, the CJNG operates in Guanajuato municipalities, including León and Salamanca. It is fighting to control Cortazar, Celaya, Apaseo el Grande, and Apaseo el Alto.
Federal and state authorities indicated that the CJNG is involved drug sales, kidnapping, and extortion in León, Silao, Guanajuato, Irapuato, and Salamanca; nevertheless, the bloody cartel is not interested in taking over fuel theft.
Investigations suggest the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel tried to forge alliances with Los Viagras and the Sinaloa Cartel to defeat the CJNG.
Source: El Universal
