Fausto Isidro Meza Flores

Fausto Isidro Meza Flores (born June 19, 1982), commonly referred to by his criminal alias El Chapo Isidro ("Shorty Isidro"), is a Mexican drug lord and high-ranking leader of the Beltrán Leyva Cartel, a drug trafficking organization. He is also the alleged leader of Los Mazatlecos and was right-hand man of the now deceased drug lord Héctor and the incarcerated Alfredo Beltrán Leyva. The FBI is offering a USD $5 million bounty.

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Meza and the second or maternal family name is Flores.
Fausto Isidro Meza Flores
Born (1982-06-19) June 19, 1982
Other namesEl Chapo Isidro
AllegianceBeltrán Leyva Cartel
Criminal chargeDrug trafficking, murder

Criminal career

Early life and ascension

Meza Flores (known in the criminal world as El Chapo Isidro) was born on June 19, 1982.[1] He began his criminal career in the 1990s, at first working for the Juárez Cartel under the tutelage of the then-leader Amado Carrillo Fuentes. After the drug lord died of plastic surgery complications in 1997, Meza Flores deserted the organization along with several other drug traffickers and decided to join the forces of the Beltrán Leyva Cartel. As a member of the Beltrán Leyva brothers, he proved to be a "skilled hitman, capable of daring, cunning and bravado."[2] When the leader Arturo Beltrán Leyva was gunned down and killed by the Mexican military in December 2009, many within the cartel deserted and left to form an independent criminal organization with Edgar Valdez Villarreal, known as La Barbie. Meza Flores, however, remained loyal to the Beltrán Leyva brothers and possibly forged an alliance with Vicente Carrillo Fuentes.[2]

Tubutama, Sonora shooting

A fierce gunfight between members of the Sinaloa Cartel (with the backing of Gente Nueva) and the Beltrán Leyva Cartel (with the support of Los Zetas and Los Mazatlecos Meza Flores' men) left about 30 dead in the town of Tubutama, Sonora in northern Mexico on July 1, 2010.[3][4] The drug gangs clashed just a few miles across the international border with the U.S. state of Arizona – an area notorious for being a smuggling route for narcotics and human trafficking.[5] Reportedly, Meza Flores and a drug trafficker called Arnoldo del Cid Buelna (known in the criminal world as El Gilo) were the ones that carried out the surprise ambush attack on the gunmen of the Sinaloa Cartel.[2] Eleven late-model, bullet-ridden vehicles were found at the scene, along with dozens of assault rifles. Some of the vehicles had "X" painted on their windows, a method often used by the Mexican drug trafficking organizations to distinguish their vehicles from those of rival drug cartels during armed confrontations.[6][7]

Los Mazatlecos era

His gang, Los Mazatlecos, is based in the region of Guasave , Los Mochis , Mazatlan , Nayarit , Sinaloa, and is responsible for smuggling large quantities of methamphetamine, heroin, marijuana, and cocaine since 2000.[8][9] He is one of the principal leaders of the Beltrán Leyva Cartel in the city of Mazatlán and in the mountainous areas of Sinaloa state. Since 2010, he is one of the leading rivals of the Sinaloa Cartel; the fight between the two drug trafficking groups has generated a wave of kidnappings and executions in Sinaloa.[10][11] Meza Flores was the right-hand man of Héctor Beltrán Leyva (now deceased) the top leader of the Beltrán Leyva Cartel; his area of operations is in Mazatlán, Guamúchil, Los Mochis, Choix and Los Cabos. On April 28, 2010, Meza Flores was nearly captured by Mexican law enforcement in the mountains of Choix, Sinaloa. However, the operation left two soldiers dead and twelve of his gunmen killed, including his right-hand man Omar Alfonso Rubio (alias "El Chonte"). On December 12, 2013, one of Meza Flores's top lieutenants, Ignacio "Nacho" González was arrested in Guasave, Sinaloa by the Mexican Army.[12]

Status

Meza Flores is a fugitive wanted by the United States government on drug trafficking charges. The FBI is offering a USD$5 million bounty.[13] His last known residence was in the state of Nuevo León, where he was reportedly seen with some of his family members at a youth basketball game in San Pedro Garza García on January 19, 2013.[14]

Kingpin Act sanction

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Department of the Treasury announced on January 17, 2013 that they froze the assets of Meza Flores, seven of his family members, and three companies that had connection with his criminal organization through the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (sometimes referred to simply as the "Kingpin Act").[15]

Businesses included in the sanction
NameRegistration #TypeLocationCitations
Autotransportes Terrestres S.A. de C.V.N/AAutomobileGuasave, Sinaloa[1]
Auto Servicio Jatziry S.A. de C.V.12577Gas stationGuasave, Sinaloa[1]
Constructora Jatziry de Guasave S.A. de CV.13554ConstructionGuasave, Sinaloa[1]
Family members of Meza Flores
NameAliasBirthStatusRelationshipCitations
Fausto Isidro Meza AnguloN/AMarch 27, 1962FugitiveFather[1][16]
Angelina Flores ApodacaN/AJuly 21, 1958FugitiveMother[1][16]
Araceli Chan InzunaN/AFebruary 8, 1985FugitiveWife[1][16]
Flor Angely MezaN/ASeptember 20, 1989FugitiveSister[1][16]
Pánfilo Flores ApodacaN/AJune 1, 1969FugitiveUncle[1][16]
Samuel Flores ApodacaEl PelónOctober 23, 1962FugitiveUncle[1][16]
Agustín Flores ApodacaEl NiñoJune 6, 1964ArrestedUncle[1][16]

See also

References
  1. "MEZA FLORES: Drug Trafficking Organization" (PDF). Office of Foreign Assets Control. January 2013. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
  2. "Chapo Isidro: A History". Borderland Beat. July 9, 2012. Archived from the original on January 18, 2013. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
  3. "El juego final de "Poncho Arce". Ríodoce (in Spanish). November 7, 2011. Archived from the original on December 14, 2012. Retrieved December 14, 2012.
  4. Pedraza, Iván (July 2, 2010). "Sicarios de los Beltrán Leyva y Zetas atacan a gente del Chapo en Sonora". Milenio (in Spanish). Archived from the original on December 14, 2012. Retrieved December 14, 2012.
  5. "21 die in Mexican gang gunbattle near Arizona border". NBC News. July 1, 2010. Retrieved December 16, 2012.
  6. "Mexico's drug war heats up near Arizona border". NBC News. The Associated Press. July 5, 2010. Retrieved December 16, 2012.
  7. Beckhusen, Robert (November 9, 2012). "Mexican hitman claims cartels bought guns from US Border Patrol". Wired UK. Archived from the original on December 16, 2012. Retrieved December 16, 2012.
  8. Durán, Martín (August 22, 2012). "Capturan a tres "mazatlecos" vinculados con matanzas de El Fuerte". El Noroeste (in Spanish). Archived from the original on December 14, 2013. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
  9. "Ficha EU a rivales del cártel de Sinaloa: los Meza Flores". Milenio (in Spanish). January 17, 2013. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013.
  10. Castillo, Gustavo (May 2, 2012). "Los Beltrán Leyva declaran la guerra al Chapo por el control de Sinaloa". La Jornada (in Spanish). Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
  11. Otero, Silvia (January 17, 2013). "EU pone en lista de narcos a familia rival de El Chapo". El Universal (Mexico City) (in Spanish). Archived from the original on January 17, 2013.
  12. "Cae lugarteniente de "El Chapo Isidro" en Sinaloa". Proceso (in Spanish). December 13, 2013. Archived from the original on December 14, 2013. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  13. FBI Most Wanted: FAUSTO ISIDRO MEZA-FLORES. FBI. Accessed: 19 November 2018.
  14. Cedillo, Juan (January 21, 2013). "El rival de 'El Chapo' señalado por EU no tiene cargos en México". CNNMéxico (in Spanish). Turner Broadcasting System. Archived from the original on January 22, 2013. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
  15. "Treasury Designates Additional Sinaloa-Based Drug Trafficking Organization". United States Department of the Treasury. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
  16. "EU anuncia sanciones contra cártel de los Meza Flores en México". El Occidental (in Spanish). Organización Editorial Mexicana. January 17, 2013. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013.
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