A cartel boss in central Mexico is openly challenging the federal government with planted explosives while issuing various threats directed to President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO). Breitbart News obtained exclusive access to intelligence identifying the leader of “Cartel Santa Rosa de Lima.”

Based in Guanajuato, Jose Antonio “El Marro” Yepez Ortiz controls regional organized fuel theft while managing to keep competitors like Los Zetas and Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG) at bay. Known for extreme violence, El Marro receives protection from several politicians and leverages black market fuel throughout Guanajuato and parts of central Mexico.

Breitbart News publishes here the first image of El Marro, who is pictured with a woman named Karina. It remains unclear is Karina is his wife or a mistress. While Cartel Santa Rosa de Lima is not considered a major player in the drug trade, the organization is the current target of a large-scale operation called “Golpe de Timon” or “Rudder Hit” as part of AMLO’s crackdown on fuel theft.

The operation led to the seizure of 14 homes and buildings, 129 vehicles, tractor-trailers, 28 rifles, and two grenades. In one of the homes, authorities found a series of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Authorities froze several bank accounts tied to El Marro, valued at $35.5 million pesos or $2 million USD.

Despite the deployment of troops and the rising number of seizures, a series of “communication errors” between authorities allowed El Marro to escape numerous properties before raids, an intelligence official exclusively revealed to Breitbart News. Despite the ongoing operation, in January, the cartel boss placed a bomb outside an oil refinery in Guanajuato. Next to the explosive, the El Marro left a banner threatening AMLO for interfering with his business.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Border / Cartel Chronicles. He co-founded the Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com. 

Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Border / Cartel Chronicles. He co-founded the Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.

Tony Aranda from the Cartel Chronicles project contributed to this report.