Criminal organizations such as drug cartels tend to seek to replace state functions in territories they control, including welfare. Such is the case of Fausto Isidro Meza Flores, a drug lord known as "Chapo Isidro" did just that in the Sinaloa municipality of Los Mochis, whose cartel reportedly handed over food and toys during Christmas.
Images circulating on social media and picked up by Infobae show boxes with logos tied to the cartel and reading "Merry Christmas." The organization led by the "Chapo Isidro" is not part of any of the two factions of the Sinaloa Cartel, currently engulfed in a bloody turf war since early September.
Empresa Guasave Or Fausto Isidro Meza Flores, "Chapo Isidro" Delivers Pantries And Toys In Los Mochis, Sinaloa.
— Borderland Beat (@Borderland_Beat) December 26, 2024
Story by @aic_07 https://t.co/10dgsmpzA5 pic.twitter.com/QrZFMPItW3
However, the organization is a large player in the world of drug trafficking and likely took a significant hit this month, as the largest fentanyl bust in Mexican history has been linked to the group. A member of the Beltrán Leyva Cartel, it allegedly lost thousands of pounds with a street value of $400 million in the bust.
Meza Flores has been on the radar of the U.S.'s Department of the Treasury since 2013. American authorities say "El Chapo Isidro" entered the drug-trafficking business in 2000 when he started distributing methamphetamines, heroin, marijuana and cocaine all across the state of Sinaloa.
Meza Flores is the alleged leader of the Meza Flores Transnational Criminal Organization, based in Sinaloa. The group is allegedly responsible for the possession, distribution, and importation of large quantities of opioids into the United States.
"El Chapo Isidro" was originally indicted in 2012 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on drug trafficking charges. He remains at-large, but the FBI and the United States Department of State's Narcotics Rewards Program offers up to $5 million for information leading to his arrest.
According to Mike Vigil, former Chief of International Operations for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), "El Chapo Isidro" operates in the Sinaloa municipalities of Guasave, Los Mochis and Mazatlán, as well as in Los Cabos, Baja California, and even counts with strong influences in Central and South America as well as in the U.S.
© 2024 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
