A cartel operative wanted for kidnapping and organized crime-related activities was arrested at the Guadalajara International Airport after he arrived on an inbound flight from the United States this past weekend. The suspect was the subject of numerous threatening narco-banners in Tijuana, accusing him of collaborating with police.
The Mexican government announced the arrest of Víctor Manuel Padilla Murillo aka “El Chatarrero” or “El Negro,” a Sinaloa Cartel operative wanted for kidnapping and drug smuggling charges. Padilla Murillo was arrested in baggage claim after arriving on a Volaris flight from Los Angeles, California. According to Breitbart Texas law enforcement sources, Padilla Murillo is tasked with coordinating large loads of cocaine from Central America to the shipping port of Ensenada. Padilla Murillo allegedly oversaw the transportation of shipping container loads to Tijuana, for eventual smuggling into the United States.
Law enforcement sources and local media reports note Padilla Murillo coordinated shipments with operatives of Alfonso Arzate García aka “El Aquiles” and René Arzate García aka “La Rana,” high-ranking members of the Sinaloa Cartel. El Aquiles and La Rana are brothers and are both wanted by the FBI for a large drug conspiracy investigation involving over 100 defendants in the U.S. Southern District of California. The brothers and their cell are blamed for much of the record-breaking cartel violence in Tijuana, which surpassed 1,500 homicides in 2019 alone. The cell is also believed to be responsible for many kidnappings in Baja California.
Padilla Murillo was subject of numerous narco-banners starting in early August. The messages accused him of colluding with corrupt ministerial agents of the state attorney general’s office. Two agents were specifically named for protecting him after a previous attack. Padilla Murillo reportedly survived two attempts on his life and fled to the U.S. prior to his fateful return.
It is believed the threats against Padilla Murillo were directed at him for refusing to pay a piso or cartel tax for being allowed to move drugs from Ensenada. It is unknown if Padilla Murillo used fraudulent documents to travel to and from the United States.
Robert Arce is a retired Phoenix Police detective with extensive experience working Mexican organized crime and street gangs. Arce has worked in the Balkans, Iraq, Haiti, and recently completed a three-year assignment in Monterrey, Mexico, working out of the Consulate for the United States Department of State, International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Program, where he was the Regional Program Manager for Northeast Mexico (Coahuila, Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Durango, San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas.) You can follow him on Twitter. He can be reached at robertrarce@gmail.com.
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