MCALLEN, Texas — Mexican Federal Police confirmed the arrest of the leader of one of Mexico’s oldest drug cartels.
Vicente “El Viceroy” Carrillo Fuentes was captured Wednesday night in the northern Mexican city of Torreón, Coahuila state, in an intelligence-driven operation that was carried out without a single shot being fired, according to information released to Breitbart Texas by Mexico’s Federal Police.
Carrillo Fuentes was the head of the Vicente Carrillo Fuentes Organization (VCFO), also known as the Juárez cartel. The criminal organization was made famous by Carrillo’s older brother Amado, known as the “Lord of the Skies” for his fleet of Boeing 707s that he used to smuggle large loads of cocaine into the US.
Breitbart Texas Contributing Editor and border security expert, Sylvia Longmire commented regarding the arrest, “There is no question the once-dominant power of the Juárez cartel has been in steep decline for the past few years, and many attribute the decrease in the Ciudad Juárez murder rate since 2011 to that decline. However, the Carrillo Fuentes Organization still wields considerable influence in the city and parts of Chihuahua state, most notably through their enforcers ‘La Linea’ and ‘Los Linces.'”
Longmire noted the cartel also has strong relationships with local gangs, particularly with Los Aztecas (known as Barrio Azteca on the US side of the border) who were responsible for the bombing of the US Consulate in Ciudad Juárez in 2010.
“Most observers believe the Sinaloa Federation has finally won the battle for control over the Juárez corridor, which is supposedly why things have calmed down in the area,” said Longmire. “However, Carrillo Fuentes had forged ties with Federation rivals Los Zetas and the Beltrán Leyva Organization to defend whatever territory and operations it could hang onto. The question becomes, as it always does after the death or capture of a kingpin, who is going to fight for control of what’s left over?”
Supposedly Vicente “retired” after an illness and handed control over to his brother Alberto circa 2012, but Alberto was arrested in September 2013. “Vicente Carrillo Leyva, son of legendary VCFO leader Amado, would logically be next in line to take the reins, but he has been jailed since 2009 on money laundering and forgery charges,” Longmire said. “Without a clear-cut successor to the Juárez cartel throne and Los Zetas and the BLO possibly ready to step in to defend their operations against a primed Federation, the relative peace Ciudad Juárez has known for the last three years could be coming to an end once again.”
Follow Ildefonso Ortiz on Twitter @ildefonsoortiz
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