Blog dedicated to reporting on Mexican drug cartels
on the border line between the US and Mexico
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Tuesday, September 11, 2018

Pedro Aviles Perez , "The Lion of the Sierras" , the first capo [boss] of Mexico drug trafficking

Chivis Martinez Borderland Beat From La Silla RotaRodrigo Gutierrez Gonzalez
Nicknamed "El Leon de la Sierra"(The Lion of the mountain range), he was the criminal mastermind  of several fearsome capos in the drug trade.


Translated for Borderland Beat by "Cruz"

Pedro Aviles, the first boss of the drug trade in Mexico 

Drug Trafficking has changed in the past years. Back then, the violence was unnecessary and the organizations were scarce.

Only 2 organizations that had been identified by the authorities existed in the 70´s, currently, they know of the existence of 9 cartels and 36 groups, cells, or gangs linked to some of these criminal organizations.

The 2 organizations involved in the drug trade, which back then were not even called cartels rather were known as "clicas"(clicks), they were the Gulf and Pacific organizations.

The latter was lead by Pedro Aviles Perez he was better known as "El Leon de la Sierra". He is considered the first boss of drug trafficking in Mexico.


He received his nickname because of his use of the mountain range within the Golden Triangle Chihuahua, Sinaloa and Durango) as one of his centers of operation, from where he turned the drug trade business in an organization modeled in sowing, cultivation, and distribution.

Aviles Perez was already trafficking cocaine into the United States from South America, even before Pablo Escobar was considered "El Patron del Mal"(the boss of evil).

 Pablo Escobar 

His contact in the United States was Max Cossman, "El rey del opio"(king of opium), who was a member of Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel gang of the Lucky Luciano family.

Luciano was the boss of the North American Italian mafia, a group that had been operating in Mexico since 1940.

Mexico turned into the ideal location for the sowing of drugs because of WWII. This was because heroin was used in hospitals during the war.


Lucky Luciano proposed to then-president Franklin Roosevelt that they impulse the cultivation in Mexico in order to supply the scarceness of heroin and morphine in the market due to the suspension of heroin supply from Turkey.

"El Leon de la Sierra" had under his command several men who years later would be fearsome drug lords.

In Pedro Aviles inner circle was Miguel Felix Gallardo, who would be the leader of the Guadalajara Cartel, the predecessor of the Pacific Cartel, who was nicknamed "El Jefe de Jefes"(boss of bosses/ main boss).

Also included was Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo, "Don Neto", the right-hand man of Felix Gallardo; Manuel Salcido Uzeta*, "El Cochiloco", one of closest men to Aviles Perez.

Not to mention Juan Jose Quintero Payan, "Don Juanjo", who in the future would be a co-founder of the Juarez Cartel; and Pablo Acosta Villarreal, known as "El Zorro de Ojinaga"(the fox of Ojinaga).

The last of "El Leon de la Sierra" inner circle was Juan José Esparragoza Moreno, "El Azul"(Blue). One of the co-founders of the Guadalajara Cartel and later Sinaloa Cartel.

Don Neto (Above left), El Azul (Above right), Don Juanjo (Below left), El Zorro de Ojinaga (Below Right)
In Pedro Aviles Peres inner circle consisted of Amado Carillo, who would be known as "El Señor de los Cielos"(the lord of the skies), founder and supreme leader of the Juarez Cartel. He and Felix Gallardo were amongst the first to start working with Pablo Escobar in Colombia.


"El Señor de los Cielos" 
As well as Rafael Caro Quintero, called the "El narco de narcos"(top drug lord), another founder of the Guadalajara Cartel with "Don Neto" and "El Jefe de Jefes".

And finally was Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, one of the founders of the Sinaloa Cartel, a criminal that has eluded the authorities for decades.


                                        Rafael Carro Quintero (Left) and Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada (Right)

Further down the totem pole and barely working as cultivators or hitmen, were Joaquin Guzman Loera, "El Chapo", his right-hand man Hector "El Guero" Palma, and the Arellano Felix and Beltran Leyva brothers.

                                   Hector "El Guero" Palma (Left) and Joaquin Guzman (Right)
               
                                
                                   CAF Francisco Javier Arellano Felix, Benjamin Arellano, Ramon Arellano
                                         
There was practically null violence back then. In fact, it was considered a threat towards the business.
The majority of the people in the Pacific Organization were from Sinaloa, but they were known as the Guadalajara Organization because it was their base of operations.

Even though they were low profile, hiding the opulence of drug trafficking was difficult as it always has been. The development of the city in the state of Jalisco proved the hand that the drug trade had in the state overlapped by the government.

The deal with the authorities had 2 rules: Aviles Perez would maintain the peace in the zones of operation and would circulate the money for the benefit of the local economy.


"El Leon de la Sierra" was murdered in a shootout in Culiacan, Sinaloa on September 15, 1978, during the celebration of a national holiday.

According to unofficial versions, Aviles Perez was a victim of a trap set up by the Mexican Army.

The drug lord was on his way to a meeting when he was stopped by military personnel who stripped him of his weapons and proceeded to murder him.

With the death of "El Leon de la Sierra", Felix Gallardo would take over the organizations leadership and thus create The Guadalajara Cartel, and surround himself with people such as: Amado Carrillo Fuentes, Héctor Luis Palma Salazar, Joaquín Guzmán Loera, Ismael Zambada García, Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo, Rafael Caro Quintero, Felipe Gurrola Gutierrez.

Additional info from Dossier Politico below


Translated by Jabali


 "As told by Damaso N"

El Cochiloco was a necrophiliac: he loved killing. He was very wicked, but also 'white'; elegant and with a hitch in his step, because of a gunshot wound he received while in his home land of San Ignacio.

This is how Damaso N. remembers him.

They also called him 'El Gallo de San Juan', because of the town he was from. Although his official name was Manuel Salcido Uzeta, he came to be known in law enforcement circles as Commander Martinez.

Damaso, a close collaborator of Rafael Caro Quintero, Ernesto Fonseca, and Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo, and that very same Cochiloco, remembers the style of that bloodthirsty capo, and gunman.

The death of El Cochiloco is related to the murder of 'El Chapo Caro', cousin of Rafael Caro Quintero, and Pedro Avlies, to whom Salcido made a promise - one that he kept with honor.

"Look, the death of El Chapo Caro was the consequence of a theft. In Colima, where El Cochiloco lived at the time, someone knocked over a boat, I believe the name of the boat was "El Chingonazo", that was loaded with 8 tons of coke".

Cochiloco - The colombians do not forgive

Between Manuel Salcido, son to Don Lalo Fernandez, and his friend and business partner, Chapo Caro, they stole 4 of the 8 tons of cocaine that the boat was transporting, which was headed for baja california.

"They stole the drugs, and let the boat take the rest to its' destination, which I believe was Ensenada, Baja California, and all 3 of them were dealt with as a result."

Damaso N. turns the wheels of his memory, making sure details are not lost to forgetfulness.. "You must know that in colombia, they teach loyalty to the point of suicide, from childhood--  because that decision over Chapo Caro came straight from colombia. and the same for el Cochiloco."

El chapo caro was shot to death while driving his pick up truck on Nicolas Bravo Street, in culiacan, while he was heading to Canadas. It was the beginning of the 80's, and the truck was burned during the killing, with him inside, shot to pieces.

--they say they threw grenades inside the cab

--after they unloaded on him, they set fire to him; they threw molotov cocktails in so no one would know what happened, but it was all because of that boat, El Chingorazo, that was knocked over in colima.

Thats what the word on the street was, and as for Cochi, they were hunting him down 2 or 3 years before a guy on a motorcycle caught up with him, one of those suicidal colombians, in guadalajara; him and a lieutenant from the mexican military that was with Cochiloco at the time.


They were in a car, on Adolfo lopez Mateos street, right there before you get to El Tucan, which was a restaurant and a night club, which belonged to Miguel angel felix gallardo. Now that was a badass dude, a dude with a mind operating on a whole other level.

And yes it's true, Cochiloco was a savage, but so were his brothers, you know, they were younger, and Gabino, they called them Los Cochitos. Gabino was killed by the military in Mazatlan; they did him dirty, they even cut his balls off.

--Damaso remembers the last time he saw Manuel Salcido, in a restaurant, in Guadalajara. He was Commander Martinez, and he was calling the shots at an operational checkpoint, surrounded by armed men and backed up by elements of the police, and the mexican military.

______________________________________________

--did you ever see him kill anyone?

--what i can tell you is that he avenged Pedro Aviles. he swore at his burial that he would avenge his death. and he did it.

Aviles, he was killed by jealousy, and envious people. he was a boss, a big boss. he was flying high. he was brave, and he paid top dollar to the government, so that they would leave him alone.

"Someone by the last name of Alcala was the boss of a group of federal police, and Pedrito gave him 20 thousand pesos, because he knew how to pay those people off, so that they would let him go about his business. Pedro was fast; he was a heavy boss, and unfortunately, there is also envy within the mafia to contend with".

And it was that very same Alcala who took it upon himself to kill Pedro. In Tepuche, while he was headed to Aguacalientita, a federal officer stopped him, in a place known as the "Y", and they shot him to death along with 3 other people.

"Thats what pissed off Cochiloco. I mean, it was a very shitty way for him to go. They were killed like dogs, because they took their weapons from them first." Thats why Cochiloco swore to avenge him, Pedro Avlies, he travelled to Michoacan with a group of men. He killed El Huarache there, a guy who was a federal snitch. And Alcala followed; because he had been in on Aviles getting killed. The group of sicarios went to Colima next, where El Cochiloco had a safe house; then, on the Guadalajara next, because Aviles had a block factory there.

Right as he was opening up his car, a LeBaron pulled up on him, and Cochiloco shot him with a FAL rifle. And when Cochiloco dropped him, he got out, got down on his knees, and cried. He lifted his rifle up, as if to signify a victory, and yelled out, "This is the other one that i promised you, Pedrito ! I made good on my promise! I don't owe anything now, you better not send me one of those people who are over there with you"

El Cochiloco, Manuel Salcido, Comandante Martinez. One and the same, and no one at the same time. He was responsible for 75 deaths. He liked palenques, and was known among the people as, both a generous criminal, and a bloodthirsty killer, who was extremely violent.


There are those who say that like Pedro Infante and Amado Carrillo, he is still alive, and still pays and takes la tambora to those who live in San Juan, his town. It was known while he was around that he had a double, someone who looked exactly like him; now people say he is still alive, not even because of the more than 50 gunshots he received that one October 9, 1991.

71 comments:

  1. I thought it was Juan Guerra in the 1930's. Gulf cartel?

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  2. Crazy how RCQ and Mayo are still out here. Unless Azul is still alive, then him too.

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  3. Michoacanos Where berly learning to clean their asses when sinaloas where already in the game lol but they claim mencho was already trafficking LMAO They are sinaloas sons when it comes the drug world Everything they know their daddy sinaloa show them

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    1. Michoacán always been in the game baby girl they cook and grow the best drugs and don’t be bragging about it and also keep a normal job while sinaloa get cucked and snitch. Sinaloa still can’t wipe their ass!

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    2. Michoacan was generally one the last place in Mexico to be opened to the outside world due to its geography and lack of infrastructure. So while you Sinaloa having a headstart, a headstart to what? Being conquered by the corruption. You can take that dubious title.

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    3. I dont think anyone says Mencho was already trafficking back then. However you can be embarrassed thats Mencho in less than 10yrs surpassed ALL of the Sinaloa federation! Although it might be short lived. I hope all cartels get murdered like dogs in the street. But cant deny he’s your step daddy for now!!

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    4. Obviously ur not from mexico to make those ridiculous claims. Theres always been smuggling going on in the fronteras by the border states. Hate to burst ur bubble but sinaloas didnt start it. At the same time as pedro avilez there was pablo acosta and juan guerra. Capos of the north only reason sinaloas got famous was because of their corridos and the fact they partnered up with colombians to store coke but eventually cut them out and took over the bizness from mexico. Inform urself before u speak or write.

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    5. It's not like there's a patent on the dope game. Se mira lo ardido

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    6. 10:42 best comeback ever lol

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    7. 10:42 mencho has not made more money dude quit bringing up a bs borderland beat article that till this day carries no weight. Its a known fact cjng is clowned by other cartels for them paying their soldiers with meth and not money. Zetas always put on their cartulina how cheap cjng is.

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    8. Surpassed ??? Hahaha last i checked cjng operates 15 countries and CDS in 45.... take a seat

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    9. 10:42 tas pendejos. mencho will never surpas cds dont believe everything u hear in the news or read

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    10. ya tranquilos chilangos con botas y chinolas

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    11. What a gang of idiots,arguing over who is the best state and dealer ?

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    12. Del Norte,yo soy de la Frontera mas codiciada & I can tell you this,Nepomuceno was the Gulfs leader y los Michoacanos trabajaban para los Sinaloenses o el Golfo,they were minions.Gotta give it to Sinaloa,for the longest they were top dogs thru-out Mexico,except for el Golfo.

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    13. 9:26 AM,Remember,the meth trade took off in the late 80s with Mexicanos & Michoacan didnt start cooking dope n'til the early 90s,before that they were working for Sinaloa or the Gulf!

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  4. God dam all those bad asses are from sinaloa its crazy got to wife me a girl from there cause they giving birth to Man and of course jelousy and envisious people would always attack others cauese the thrut hurts them
    Panza de guajolote

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  5. “Mis armas no las entrego, van a quedar en el serro; yo no me fio de esa gente, que la deslumbra el dinero; ya murio el Leon de la Sierra, vengan a quitarle el cuero... adios todos mis amigos, del valle de culiacan, ninguna ley del gobierno, mi nombre podra cambiar, me llamo Pedro Aviles, no se les vaya olvidar...”

    - El Jabali

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  6. This guy worked with Lucky Luciano , this is what I mean when I say there's traffickers a thousand times more interesting than mencho.

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  7. Plot Twist: Felix Gallardo had Aviles Perez murdered.

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    Replies
    1. I would have to agree with you! My though is the same conclusion. It makes sense.

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  8. @ chivis pedro aviles was 1 of the first pioners in drug traficking but he didnt move coke mostly weed and a lil herion and at the time they werent clikas they where called bandos... but the first and oldest cartels was golfo and then guadalajara. years later it would b amado and his juarez cartel and after the split of the guadalajara cartel in the early 90s it would be the arellanos and the sinaloa cartel/pacific cartel

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    1. I agre about the coke, or at least that is news to me, BUT disagree about heroin, he definitely was in heavy for the times.

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    2. Wrong...Heroin was Aviles' strong suit,him & the Herreras from Durango were the main suppliers of tar heroin.San Luis Rio Colorado was his main port of entry into U.S.

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  9. Thanks Cruz and Chivis very interesting article.

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  10. this was a really good read. why do i feel like we got the watered down version? more please :-)

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    1. I feel the same way! I looked for books in english to recommend even Amazon and "no results"

      if anyone can direct me to a GOOD book on pedro and the narco genesis PLEASE send me the title

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    2. Thanks Chivis, it was not watered down, it was just fine.Lots of cartel bosses throughout the years.

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    3. Drug Lord....book on Pablo Acosta is a good read

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    4. 3:17 This article mentions many of the narcos in Sinaloa but there are also many names absent. As those listed who are either killed or put in prison or on run there are hundreds just in Sinaloa who operate during and before Aviles time did not make any noticias but had similar success. Aviles is better known because of his compadres who did amazing business and were part of international efforts to capture.
      Many of the “respected” wealthy family who have white or clean business were started from great narcos who did not want the family to entertain the business of drogas.
      I am glad to see Cochiloco or Manuel Salcido on the list because he was very big for long time and was first as Sinaloan to remember as having no descreet when killing people. Back then also Mazatlan Was more than Culiacan the town of narcos but this changes in late 1980 through 1990s.

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    5. 9:58-I agree. Drug Lord: A True Story: The Life and Death of a Mexican Kingpin by Terence Poppa was a very informative read on the narco world and players of the time along the border. If someone can start at the era and track past it could be a goldmine of information.

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    6. I think she meant books on pedro Aviles, right chivis?

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    7. well yes but these are good recommendations so it's cool

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  11. Te days when there was no competition for chinolas.

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  12. Muchisimas gracias Chivis te agradezco un chingo mujer! Where does Rafa 'El Aguila' Guajardo play into all of this? Man this era of traffickers were something else. Dealing with lucky Luciano himself lol

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  13. Who payed the military to set the trap and kill him is the billion dollar question.

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    1. Almost certainly the governor of Sinaloa or Jalisco, or possibly a federal official. Must have been some problems with the agreement that Aviles reached with the government.

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    2. In these cases it’s usually whoever takes over the organisation straight afterwards is usually the orchestrator or at least one of the main conspirators ..I.e:Felix Gallardo..even more obvious when you consider who killed him..most likely fell out of favour with his government protectors and his own network .I wonder if this is what started the trend (made it okay) to turn in your boss to climb up the ladder..I’ll never understand...you kill hundreds if not thousands of people fighting for a prize which is what a 5year run at the top if you’re lucky ..then what murdered arrested family killed double crossed..is it just me but it seems like theses guys don’t even get to enjoy their money for that long..i don’t get how these guys ever see a way out history has proved the odds of getting out unscathed are very unlikely..if anyone has heard of anyone who has please share only person I can think of is Azul who probably wasn’t even a full on trafficker but most likely a financier...anyone ever heard of a cell that’s been busted or load seized or sicarios directly linked directly linked to Azuls faction?..why is he never mentioned as much as the other scum..thanks in advance to anyone who answers

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    3. El azul and mayo will never be go to jail ever

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  14. Write/translate more of this type of content. I was going to ask for book recommendation but I saw you comment. GREAT STUFF

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    1. You want to read a good book read druglord the life and death of a mexican kingpin by terrence e poppa. Its the life story of pablo acosta villareal the fox of ojinaga and mentor of amado carrillo fuentes the lord of the skies great read.

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    2. I read lucky Luciano. That's good

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    3. BTW off topic but a film about White Boy Rick is coming out this week or is out. now THAT is an unbelievable story! The gov makes him a cooperative at the age of 15 or so. and makes a fake ID for him so he could go to Vegas and do undercover work at a boxing match. just incredible. i doubt if the film is as good as reading about him. the rarely are..

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    4. Detroit a perfect market. God Bless

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  15. I agree, this is why I stick with bb, there are many gems like this found few places in english

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  16. Was Pancho Villa in the drug trade too???

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    Replies
    1. Maybe marijuana to buy guns and ammo

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    2. Perhaps he was...I was not born in that era...Chivis was more likely 2 years old.

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  17. There is a mexican movie called "Clave 7" which basically is the life of Pedro Aviles.

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  18. BTW There is testimony given by a Damaso N that gives information incl the killing of pedro. he says, and most others he was killed by a guy with the surname of Acala. Acala was a federal police boss who was on the aviles payroll. it is in spanish but google translates enough to know what is being said.

    I was going to translate and add to the post but decided not to.

    here is the link
    http://www.dossierpolitico.com/vernoticiasanteriores.php?artid=4500&relacion=dossierpolitico

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    1. chivis JAGL aka chapodamasorden.
      damaso N is filled with lies. pedro was the first to be wanted by the usa.. there were way more people before pedro. that had alot of power but regional.. yes it was a police agente that betrayed him. wich also died many years later. pedro tried to talked to the officials but he was murdered with some ladies. an uncle of one of tjose ladies swore to kill him. but he couldnt be touched. as he was useful to sinaloa. but the day came to avenge the deaths of the girls..

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    2. Keep it coming chivis.
      also a question do you know spanish chivis?

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    3. Thank you for the link!

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    4. of course 1:28..why do you ask ? because i was looking for books in english? most people read english here not spanish so I try to accomodate them when recommending. some great books are in spanish only.

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    5. what i do know is that ayala is the only one ever named as his assassin

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    6. There's stories that say cochiloco avenged his death and murdered Alcala

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    7. What are some good books to read Chivis. Spanish or English would work for me.

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  19. Some heavy hitters here to be fair. But where did it all end for the vast majority? Dead, on the run in mountains, safe houses and sewers or banged up in high security prisons. I'll take my chances in living an honest life. Have a roof over my head, clothes on my back and food on the table. Never worry about where i go or who i meet. Somethings in life are priceless. Freedom being the main one.

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    1. Dead, my father law knew many of the old school figures. Lots of betrayal. The ones standing are there for a reason.

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    2. Well said mate, there is nothing better than freedom.

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  20. Clave 7
    “Desde ese día inolvidable no rola tanto dinero, unos agentes traidores ahora estrenan carro nuevo, y un hombre en Guadalajara no duerme de puro miedo.”

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  21. Good riddance the only good king pin is a dead one.

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  22. Since the article is about Pedro Avilez, might as well mention that he was born in Toyoltita DGO and later came to live in Culiacan like a lot of people in the drug trade in DGO do.

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  23. Everybody is overlooking the fact that cochi was into sexually assualting corpses !!!?!? Idk whats worse, his necrophilia or el lazcas cannibalism

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    1. That’s not what the article meant it got it mixed up in translation. It was said that Juan Manuel Salcido enjoyed killing people, he was blood thirsty. And it’s true he killed a lot of people but was also a generous man.

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    2. My apologies...Juan Garcia Abrego wa Boss in the 90s!

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  24. Operacion Condor sent the Sinaloenses to Guadalajara...as for Juan Guerra,he was the Gulf Cartel Leader in the 90s.

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  25. A little off topic but I just watched an old documentary on Amado Carillo Fuentes and in it they revealed that while working under Pablo Acosta ACF bought him a gold Rolex watch and a centenario. The famous picture of Pablo Acosta in the black shirt has wearing both pieces of jewelry.

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