Mexican authorities arrested the top leader of a hyperviolent fuel-theft cartel that been waging a fierce turf war for control of key areas in Central Mexico. The organization known as Cartel Santa Rosa de Lima (CSRL) is linked not only to gruesome mass killings but also to the use of improvised explosive devices and car bombs.
The arrest took place Saturday morning in the state of Guanajuato when state police forces and Mexican Army soldiers arrested Jose Antonio “El Marro” Yepez Ortiz and five other of his associates. The arrest occurred during an early morning raid where they rescued a kidnapped businesswoman, state governor Diego Sinhue Rodriguez Vallejo announced on social media.
Authorities seized a weapons cache during the arrest that El Marro and his men kept at the house. In recent weeks, the man known as El Marro went on the run after authorities arrested his parents and relatives in a series of raids. As Breitbart Texas reported at the time, a tearful El Marro sent out a video threatening an all-out war for having touched his family.
CSRL actively fought with Mexico’s Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion for control of Guanajuato and the region’s underground fuel market. The fighting between the two organizations led to numerous mass killings and gruesome executions. Unlike other criminal organizations,CSRL is primarily involved in the large-scale theft of fuel rather than drug trafficking. However, the criminal organization made a name as one of Mexico’s most violent organizations. The group is linked to the regular use of explosives in their attacks.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ 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 Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.