Notorious Drug Lord El Marro Captured By Mexican Security Forces

Jose Antonio Yepez, a dangerous drug lord and fuel thief who goes by the name “El Marri”, has been captured by the Mexican security forces on August 2. He had been on the radar of the security forces for years now for the increased incidences of violence the nation has been suffering.

Soldiers and state officials raided “El Marro” a.k.a. Yepez’s house in Guanajuato in the early hours of August 2. Yepez and five other suspected gang members were captured in a village called Franco Tavera in the Santa Cruz de Juventino Rosas municipality, as shared by Guanajuato’s government. The security forces also rescued a local businesswoman who had been kidnapped, seized weapons including a grenade launcher, as well as arrested a sixth suspected gangster.

Security forces have been gradually closing in on Yepez but he had managed to evade capture thanks to a tight network of informers who allowed him to stay one step ahead of his pursuers, according to analysts and media reports.

Authorities have been observing Guanajuato as it has been the focal point of high levels of record gang violence. The Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel, helmed by Yepez, also operates in Guanajuato.

“This is a tremendously successful blow for the government,” said Raul Benitez, a security analyst at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).

With his cartel, Yepez has been busy stealing fuel, worth hundreds of millions of dollars, in the state where there are countless pipelines along with a major oil refinery. Of late, Yepez has been locking horns with El Mencho, leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), touted as one of the most powerful and violent gangs in Mexico.

This is the first major step to curb the drug cartel and the violence they have spread by Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the nation’s 58th President since he assumed office in December 2018 and pledged to decrease the crimes plaguing Mexico.

El Marro’s arrest raises hopes that his adversary, CJNG boss “El Mencho”, who is the most dangerous and the most wanted drug lord in Mexico, will be captured soon as well.

“Now ‘El Mencho’ is next up,” Benitez said.