EXCLUSIVE: Independent Drug Bosses Turn on Each Other for Mexican Border State Turf

The leader of an independent gang who is fighting large cartels and other organized crime elements for control of the drug trade in parts of Nuevo Leon now faces more conflict as some of his top associates are starting to mutiny. The fighting over the drug trade in the Monterrey metropolitan area has led to more than 150 murders in 2021.

In recent months, Alfredo Azael “Chino Norte” Nava Ramírez broke away from allies as the fight for control of the street-level distribution intensified in  Monterrey.

Most recently, two of his top associates, Enrique “Totoy” González Rivera and his brother, Guillermo Osiel “Totoy Negro” Gonzalez Rivera, have turned on him for control of stash houses and distribution storefronts.

Breitbart Texas first reported on El Totoy in July 2019 and published exclusive photographs of the crime boss. In June 2020, state authorities in Nuevo Leon arrested him. Through his brother and other channels, Totoy continues to operate from behind bars.

In the months following his arrest, the relationship between Totoy and Chino Norte worsened until Totoy and his brother began to carry out attacks against the drug dealers loyal to their former ally.

The brothers were petty criminals from the state of Jalisco who gained notoriety after moving to Nuevo Leon. Totoy spent time in prisons in Nuevo Leon, while brother Guillermo Osiel “Totoy Negro” gained a reputation after kidnapping and torturing an undercover police officer. While rescuing that officer, state authorities learned Totoy Negro had set up a network of surveillance cameras in small stores and houses throughout his area of operation to monitor rivals and law enforcement.

Gerald “Tony” Aranda is an international journalist with more than 20 years of experience working in high-risk areas for print and broadcast news outlets investigating organized crime, corruption, and drug trafficking in the U.S. and Mexico.  In 2016, Gerald took up the pseudonym of “Tony” when he joined Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project. Since then, he has come out of the shadows and become a contributing writer for Breitbart Texas.