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Monday, July 4, 2022

Attempted Hit on Sinaloa Cartel's El Tolín Leads To His Arrest at a Hospital in Rosarito, Baja California

"HEARST" for Borderland Beat 


Sinaloa Cartel’s El Tolín, a leadership figure for the group in Rosarito, Mexicali and Tijuana, was attacked by hitmen and later arrested by authorities in Baja California. 



The Attempted Hit on Tolín


On Saturday, July 2, 2022,  Luis Héctor (or Luis Édgar) Herrera, alias “El Tolín”, went to the Bar-Bas barbershop, located in Plaza Reforma within the city of Rosarito, which is located in the state of Baja California.




Tolín was accompanied to the barbershop by a bodyguard as well as his three children according to Punto Norte.


At approximately 11:40 am, they exited the barbershop. As they walked across the parking lot, a white pickup truck with at least 4 hitmen inside opened fire on them, according to witnesses who spoke to Zeta Tijuana. The youngest of the three children, who is five years old, was wounded by the gunfire. 




Tolín and the bodyguard tried to rush the children into his vehicle, an armored white Dodge Ram pickup truck which was parked close by. As they tried to shuffle the children inside, the bodyguard was killed by the gunfire and crumpled to the ground. Tolín managed to close the vehicle doors and drive away from the parking lot, leaving the dead bodyguard lying splayed out on the pavement with his firearm nearby. 

Video of the sound of the gunfire unleashed on El 
Tolín. Video Source: Rosarito en la Noticia, thank you to an anonymous commenter for the link. 


The uninvolved vehicles that were parked nearby show significant damage from a large number of bullet holes. Over 300 shell casings would later be found in the parking lot. 



The Rosarito General Hospital Trip & Arrest


Tolín drove to Rosarito General Hospital, located on Haros Aguilar Street, and carried his injured son inside for medical treatment. At 11:55 am the hospital reported that a five year old child had arrived with gunshot injuries to the chest and the leg. 


As part of standard procedure when such a report is made, municipal police officers were dispatched to the hospital. The officers arrived and questioned Tolín about how his son had received the gunshot injuries. Tolín refused to answer and re-entered his armored truck, which had his other two children inside, and drove away from the hospital. 


Officers called in for backup and further down Haros Aguilar street, in front of city hall, patrol cars blocked the street so that Tolín’s vehicle could not pass. With his vehicle now boxed in, police officers approached the white pickup truck, which had dark tinted windows and was still bearing the bullet holes. 


The officers approached the vehicle with their firearms raised. Without having to fire a single shot, they opened the driver’s side front and rear doors. The two children were removed from the vehicle.



Then Tolín was arrested. Two weapons were found to be in his possession, both 9mm firearms.


Video Source: DavidWolf

Video Source: Calvarie_Locus


The Rosarito Municipal Police headquarters, which is located a few blocks from the place where the arrest occurred, was heavily guarded, since another attack or an attempt to free El Tolín was anticipated. From there, Tolín was quickly transferred to the facilities of the federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR) in Tijuana following his arrest. 


Minutes after the arrest occurred, Deputy Director José Antonio Campa Arredondo was informed by staff members of the arrest. Campa Arredondo announced the arrest shortly after during a scheduled Zero Impunity press conference that was held in Mexicali.



“Everything seems to indicate that the individual [Tolín] suffered an armed attack, where his son was apparently injured. In an act of desperation, he  went to the Rosarito General Hospital to have his son treated, and it was there that he made a threatening move - that is where the individual was arrested," said Antonio Campa.


Tolín’s arrest was later confirmed by the Secretary of Citizen Security, Gilberto Landeros Briceño.





What do we know about El Tolín? 


The detainee is believed to be 38-years old and named Luis Héctor (or Luis Édgar) Herrera, aliases “El Tolín” and “El Tolín Infante”.


In his narco-corrido, titled Tolín Infante, which is sung by the musical group Los Tucanes de Tijuana, it is alleged that "He was born in Al Capone's land, or rather in Chicago, but he grew up in California. His parents are Mexican, he is nicknamed Tolin Infante, for Culiacán backed". 


The group Los Tucanes de Tijuana claim Tolín had a childhood of poverty in which his family had no food and he had to sleep inside trucks at night, which led to him having no friends. They allege Tolín entered the cartel "business" due to this poverty. In the corrido, there is also the typical self-aggrandizing litany about how now he has “a lot of money”, a fleet of vehicles, many friends and although "he is a calm family man" he also likes action and casinos.


According to this 2011 article by AFN Tijuana, Tolín spent his early criminal career working as part of a gang in a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. He later moved to Mexico and began operating within the city of Tijuana.



On November 4, 2011, when Tolín was 28 years old, he was arrested alongside Antonio Leal Beltrán in the early morning hours by officers of the State Preventive Police (PEP). The pair were captured when a PEP routine patrol heading down De las Aguas Avenue, in the Villas del Sol subdivision of Tijuana, noticed two armed men inside a green Honda Civic. 



The two men were asked by the officers to step out of their vehicle and submit to a search. The officers found that Tolín was carrying a 5.7×28mm firearm and that Antonio Leal Beltrán was carrying a 9mm firearm; both were carrying corresponding ammo as well as 2,500 dollars in cash. At the time of this 2011 arrest, authorities announced that his official registered residence was a property in El Monte, California. 



Which CDS subgroup was he a part of currently?


Specifying which Sinaloa Cartel subgroup El Tolín is currently a part of is a bit tricky. On September 20, 2021, Zeta Tijuana wrote about the Sinaloa Cartel which currently has greater presence and control in Rosarito, three cells serve the brothers Rene and Alfonso Arzate:


Brothers and former police officers Mario Alberto and Karlo Omar Herrera.  

 

Luis Héctor and/or Luis Edgar Herrera ‘Tolín Infante’.  

 

‘El 40’ and ‘El 42’.



But on January 3, 2022, Zeta Tijuana wrote about the capture of Los Rusos leader Felipe Eduardo Barajas Lozano, alias “El Omega”, and added that:

“After his capture, according to intelligence reports from the Security Table the following remain as cell leaders in the area occupied by Los Rusos:  


Alfonso Peralta/Alfonso Amaya ‘El P-1 and/or ‘Ponchito de la Lima 
 
Héctor Infante ‘El Tolín 

Maximiliano Aispuro Álvarez ‘El Max 
 

and another individual known as ‘El 80 or ‘83’.”

 



So what is the explanation for Tolín at one time being described as a La Rana/Aquiles operator later being described as a Los Rusos operator?


Both La Rana/Aquiles and Los Rusos are believed to be Sinaloa Cartel groups that fall strongly on the El Mayo aligned side of the CDS spectrum, however La Rana/Aquiles are primarily based out of Tijuana and Los Rusos are primarily based out of Mexicali. 


Later in the January 3rd Zeta article, In what may be an explanation for the change, they write of Los Rusos: 

“The criminal organization chart also includes Hector ‘Tolin’ Infante, because the Chicago native has substantially increased his presence in Mexicali. According to intelligence reports, his most recent public crime took place on December 3, when he fired a gun during a concert by the group Codiciado at the Palenque del FEX. 

Initially it was said that the person responsible was a bodyguard, but the images and information from the authorities confirmed that the alleged perpetrator was El Tolín Infante, who already boasts photographs and corridos with regional Mexican music personalities.”

 


So it seems that after September 2021, Tolin shifted an aspect of his operation from Tijuana over to Mexicali and this caused him to become more ingratiated with Los Rusos, who were a natural ally since Tolin has fallen on the El Mayo side of CDS in recent history. 




Update 7/5/2022: It is locally rumored that El Tolín works under Juan Carlos Felix Gastélum , alias “El Chavó Felix”, who is the overall leader of both Mexicali and Puerto Penasco.


These rumors allege that El Tolín had been warned multiple times by Chavó Felix to stay within Mexicali, where it was safe and not to travel to Rosarito, however Tolín ignored these warnings. 


Although their cartel rival CJNG is present in Rosarito, it is locally rumored that Los Chapitos were actually the ones behind the hit on Tolín. 


Because Tolín chose to travel to Rosarito, against the alleged advice of his superiors, it is unknown if Mayo-associated cartel forces will retaliate against Chapitos for the attempted hit. 


Additional higher quality images, seen below, have emerged online from sources like AFN Tijuana and NarcoGuerraMX.











Update 7/10/2022: There is an El Max who works for Aquiles/Rana and a different El Max who works for Rusos. 


The Rusos "El Max" is named Maximiliano Aispuro Álvarez. 



The Aquiles/ La Rana "El Max" is Edwin Antonio Rubio Lopez. 




Article has been revised to reflect this.




Sources: Zeta Tijuana, La Silla Rota, AFN Tijuana Article 1, Article 2, La Voz de Frontera, El Imparcial, Punto Norte Article 1, Article 2 

60 comments:

  1. Another big fish

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  2. Bodyguards Lives Matter

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  3. "Pa' toda la clica en Culiacán
    Bélico el asunto
    La puntería nunca me falla
    Se llama Mateo
    El morro que me cuida la espalda
    No es mentira, es cierto
    Me gustan mucho las armas largas
    Traigo lanza papas
    Yo me voy a morir en la raya
    Yo no sé fallar
    Por eso sigo aquí
    Y arriba mi raza
    Tengo dos compadres, son muy tranquilos, nunca se rajan
    Ponchito el de la Lima es un hombre serio, todo se le cuadra
    Para Chavo Felix, ahí va un saludo al hombre hasta su plaza
    Con la misma línea se escucha el apoyo de la casa
    Arriba Culiacán
    Les dice el Tolín
    Disparando un arma larga
    Ahí le va Tolín Infante
    Arriba Chicago, loco
    Y puro Culiacán, pareja
    Bélico el asunto
    Nací en Chicago
    Soy de la mafia
    Yo acomodo el polvo
    Pura gente del mayo zambada
    Conmigo mi hermano
    También hay flechas pa' lo que salga
    Y una Glock al cinto
    Y la Mira Monstruos, nunca me falta
    Bien atento estoy
    Bien pegado al phone
    Porque siempre hay chamba
    Tengo siete hijos y mi señora nunca me falla
    Ella anda conmigo desde que correteaba la papa
    Viene uno en camino, soy bendecido, nada me falta
    Yo soy buen amigo, también soy bien pasado de lanza
    Hoy voy a tomar
    Y van a tocar
    Los Tucanes de Tijuana"

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    Replies
    1. Esa la canta grupo codicado 😂

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    2. So al que mataron fue al Mateo ?

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    3. Affirmativo viejo le chingaron a mateo

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    4. No fue Mateo viejones.

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  4. He ended up taken off the map for a while anyway, but those sent to hit him really made a mess of this. All those shots and all the publicity, to hit one guy and one escolta, in an ambush.

    Tonin was probably confident he could buy his way out, until they took him to Tijuana. There is too much publicity now, but unless the US has a warrant, all they can hold him is weapons possession, which he can get bail for and be released.

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  5. RIP to the Bodyguard El Chavo Mateo

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  6. Should’ve stayed in Mexicali

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  7. Wtf is he throwing up??

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    Replies
    1. I found out through research that Tolin was actually never a part of the Latin Kings.

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    2. Hes throwing HXH from what I see

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    3. He used to be a member from the gang “los infante” in El Monte Ca when he was younger

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    4. That's a common sign people throw in Mexico, people are reading too much into it.

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    5. It’s the 5 point star it’s a gang reference

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    6. Lmfao @2:11

      How is solprendido the source of any organized crime information? the man dont know anything lol he said "LK"?

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    7. Sign is for Latin Kings and the cross over of the wrists is for life but I don't think he is a LK. Someone said HXH...what is that....not familiar?

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    8. MS13 is similar but they throw it up with the back of their hands visible and just pinkys out for either side of the crown.

      Latin Kings do make that sign but usually the top fingers are put together, to form the peak of 5 point star/crown.

      He was born in Chicago, but didn't grow up there so doubtful he is an LK member, and they are primarily Puerto Rican.

      He lived in El Monte, Cailfornia...might be throwing up an "El Monte Hicks" sign.

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    9. En El Monte solamente rifa Monte Flores gang

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    10. Not LK sign sol I ain't ever seen a king throw the crown like that. And pinkies ain't touching so he ain't throwing the 5 point star either. Probably just trying to be cool. And SoCalj wrong homie, from your name imma say you haven't met many kings, being from Socal. LKs from the Chi/Midwest are primarily mexicanos, out on the east coast is where they're mostly PR and cubanos.

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    11. He has never even claimed El Monte on any songs but claims Chicago. Pretty sure it Latin Kings

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    12. Tolin was never part of a gang in El Monte. He used to roam and run the cities of Whittier and La Mirada, he was your local meth dealer riding around a bike working with MZ family members

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    13. That's right! Tolin grew up in Whittier Ca. Not everything you hear or read is true.

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    14. I agree with you guys, Tolin lived in Whittier for sure. Some articles get it wrong.

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    15. He had people from El Monte on his team while in the USA

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  8. That's chickensh-t how they hit him with the kids there

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  9. Eso tolin balla tolin wow tolin a la verga tolin

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  10. https://youtu.be/zPuWqNOxV9A

    Tolin been around a minute he's sitting on the left

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  11. "Nació en tierras de Al Capone
    Mejor dicho, allá, en Chicago
    Pero se crió en California
    Sus padres son mexicanos
    Le apodan "Tolín Infante"
    Por Culiacán respaldado
    Sufrió mucho cuando niño
    Por culpa de la pobreza
    Mucha gente lo humillaba
    No tenía ni bicicleta
    Dormía en los autobuses
    Y a veces en la banqueta
    Duelen las humillaciones
    La necesidad te obliga
    Cuando no se tiene opciones
    Hay que desafiar la vida
    Así empezó en los negocios
    13 años Tolín tenía
    Muy pronto se hizo valioso
    Gracias al señor de arriba
    Ahora son otros tiempos
    Ya lo que pasó es pasado
    Hoy, tiene muchos amigos
    Dinero y carros del año
    Su hobby son los casinos
    Y también el tiro al blanco
    Traía una .45
    Del caballito arrendado
    No la piensa ni tantito
    Relincha si es necesario
    Aunque es un hombre tranquilo
    Le gusta andar bien armado
    Hay que seguir trabajando
    Por el bien de la familia
    El color verde y el blanco
    A los gringos les fascina
    Y mientras sigan pagando
    Tendrán todo lo que pidan
    Un saludo a mi plebada
    También a mi compa Pepe
    Y gracias, compadre Cali
    Usted siempre me hizo fuerte
    Que retumben los tucanes
    Ahora que sí hay billetes
    Mi nombre es Héctor Infante
    El Tolín para mi gente"

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  12. What a nice jail cell to throw him in. One with CAF written on the ceiling

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  13. Here is a link to a better video of the gunfire

    https://www.facebook.com/336949869773084/videos/5107721409276773

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for the tip. I just added the video into the section about the shooting.

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    2. you are welcome and the sign is Latin Kings for Life but I do not think he is an LK.... not sure.

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  14. Los Chapitos or CJNG let’s take a poll?

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    Replies
    1. 7:07 who would win? Or who wpuld you rather win?
      Cjng would crash chapitos hands down
      Now who would you rather win? well thats a personal opinnion

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    2. Relax cheerleader 9:18. I believe what 7:07 meant was who put the hit on Tolin Infante, Chapitos or CJNG?

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    3. I say it was los chapitos, they aren’t respecting kids women etc

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    4. Def chapitos if it was cjng culin wouldnt have survived

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    5. 5:23 I concur

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  15. Workers at barber shop said that tolin and his older son like 15-16yrs old ran to the back bathroom area and both started shooting outwards! 15 yr old was packing,dam!

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  16. El plaga on his Instagram is saying it was gente de la Rana. Aquiles brother. I thought they were all MZ flag?

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    Replies
    1. What's his Instagram username?

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    2. It’s 15.plaga on ig

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  17. El plaga confirmed it was some cabo 25 and 26 who tried the hit , im not sure who they are or i think cabo 24 and 25 , i dont remember exactly but one of those cabos

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  18. Hector Infante from what I remember him as kid was he was a funny kid and grew up poor. He grew up in Norwalk and went to Hargett Middle School where I met him. Never saw him again but I heard he became big.

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  19. Why would this guy jeopardize his kids lives if he was told it was dangerous to travel to rosarito.

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  20. I don’t know why the fuck people putting out his business

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  21. I read somewhere that USA is warning Americans if they planning on traveling to TJ, rosarito and BC because of this I knew I was gonna find all accurate information here, even though I haven’t been here in years you guys never disappoint.

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  22. You guys got to stop putting his business out there

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  23. To me it looks like he is throwing up tango blast

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  24. I looks like he is throwing tango blast

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  25. I know my boy personally, spent weeks with him at his house not too long ago, I've known him since childhood. He's a good fucken dude, funny as hell and a family man. Siempre vamos a tener lo en nuestro pecho. El Monte gave him the backing and agallas he carried. Palabra

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