Top Sinaloa Cartel Leader To Be Released From Prison 15 Years After Being Captured

The intricacies of criminal groups in Mexico can someetimes be hard to follow. Some cartels have factions and even those can have their own cliques. A clear example of this is the Sinaloa cartel, one of Mexico's biggest criminal organizations that in recent weeks has seen two of its groups fight for control in Culiacán.

"Gente Nueva," a branch that had close links to cartel leader, Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, is now making headlines because its leader is set to be released in 2026 after being captured 15 years ago.

Noel Salgueiro Nevárez, a.k.a. "El Flaco," played a key role in expanding the group's presence across the states of Guerrero, Durango, Sinaloa, Veracruz and Chihuahua. He was captured in 2011 and, according to information from El Diario, he could be released in 2026.

"El Flaco" first got involved with criminal groups in 1995, when he was living in the state of Chihuahua. The Mexican Army says that by then he was already involved in the smuggling up to 15 tons of marijuana per month into the United States.

"El Flaco" is accused of carrying out kidnappings, extortions, murders and even tortures against civilians, rival groups as well as government officials in the state. In 2011, Special Forces from to the Mexican Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA) successfully captured him in Culiacán.

Months after his arrest, the U.S. Department of the Treasury also identified him as the Sinaloa cartel's leader in Chihuahua, but it wasn't until December 2019 that "El Flaco" was extradited to the United States.

The Salgueiro family

"El Flaco" was one of four brothers in charge of leading Gente Nueva, which focused on opium poppy and marijuana production in the southern part of Chihuahua. Since his capture, the other three brothers allegedly run what U.S. law enforcement refers to as the Salgueiro-Nevarez Organization.

The U.S. Attorney General's Office in Arizona announced in 2021 indictments against three of the brothers, Ruperto, Jose and Heriberto Salgueiro Nevárez, as well as one for Aureliano Guzmán Loera, brother of "El Chapo" Guzmán.

Mexican authorities estimate that Gente Nueva counts with at least five thousand members, who are always seen wearing military clothing and high-caliber firearms. Investigations from Mexico's Attorney General's Office revealed that the criminal group and branch of the Sinaloa cartel first was formed by former members of the Mexican armed forces that deserted their post to join the cartels.