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Thursday, January 25, 2018

San Diego: Sajid Emilio Quintero Navidad "El Cadete" pleads guilty, a legend dies.

El Cadete pleads guilty 

For years his name was barely above a whisper, in the corridos they play in Sonora, in cities and small towns across the state.  They knew Cadete's name in the mountains, the hills of Tubutama, Sonora, where in June 2010, a running gunfight and ambush, was a full scale battle for control of the region.  

Cracked glass and bloody suburban car seats, X painted onto the windows, men died with rifles in their hands, under the Sonoran desert sun, the body count was said to be 50.  It was probably more.  Gunmen threw the fallen into trucks and cars, corpses, evidence, and buried them in the hills they were defending.  The hills still belonged to the Beltran's after that day.  Maybe they still do.

They knew Cadete's name in Ciudad Obregon, way down in Sonora, on the border of Sinaloa.  Obregon, known from the days of Amado Carillo Fuentes, and the old guard of narco traffickers.  They say Cadete gave the order on Tito Torbellino, a singer executed in early 2014, as Cadete's faction went after Los Salazar, a longtime family allied with Sinaloa.  Adan Salazar Ramirez, son of Don Adan, 48, was dropped off, dead, in front of a funeral parlor in Navojoa, Sonora in May 2016.


In August 2014 Quintero Navidad was listed by the United States by the OFAC as a kingpin and major trafficker.  Charts and graphs illustrated his network, and any businesses were banned from engaging in commerce with the US.  In this world, when you end up on the OFAC blacklist, your days are likely numbered.  There is a federal indictment waiting for you, if you are picked up in Mexico. 

But, Quintero Navidad, didn't fall.  He is a cousin of Rafael Caro Quintero, who a year earlier in August 2013 was released from a Mexican prison.  The US demands his capture.  Quintero Navidad is said to be of the alliance between Beltran-Leyvas, of whom no brothers who bare the family name are free, and Caro Quintero. 

Caro's own alliances are ever shifting and hard to decide, it depends on who you believe.  Some say Caro Quintero along with Tito Beltran, Damaso Lopez, and CJNG, were in an alliance, whose power move was the kidnapping of Ivan Archivaldo and Alfredo Guzman, a sweaty summer night in August 2016.  Gunmen some dressed in shorts, and wearing sandals, carrying long rifles, rushed La Leche, during a birthday celebration and escorted the Guzman brothers to waiting SUV's. 

Caro's self published interview, in a small house in the mountains of Sinaloa, says he, Mayo, and Chapo Guzman are friends, and he is retired, and wishes them no harm, only to be free, having paid his debt.  The US doesn't believe this, and places Caro Quintero at the head of a vast money laundering and drug trafficking network, centered on dozens of real estate and businesses in Jalisco. 

Last summer, the same month Damaso Lopez Serrano, Mini Lic, turned himself into federal officials in Calexico, Chapo Trini Olivas, the partner of Quintero Navidad was eating in Zapopan, Jalisco, hot dogs and tacos Sonora style.  Trinidad Olivas Valenzuela, had been a wanted man for years in Sonora, where he allegedly ordered and sanctioned dozens and dozens of killings, warring with rival factions, backed most often by Sinaloa.  It was said Chapo Trini was independent.  But, he answered to someone.  

That night, under the lights and smell of roasting beef, and hot dogs, gunmen arriving in an X6 and Mercedes Benz, executed Chapo Trini, his wife and young daughter, 7, were shot, but survived.  El Chapo Trini's name had been hot,  appearing on banners in Sonora, called a murderer, linking him to Navidad Quintero, alleging his responsibility in massacres, the killing of Tito Torbellino. 

Months later, in October 2017, El Cadete, 36 years old, stepped from the shadows of corridos and narco mantas into the light, and turned himself in at the San Ysidro point of entry, in Tijuana.  He was brought to San Diego, on a number of trafficking charges, conspiracy to import, conspiracy to distribute upon importation, and money laundering conspiracy.  The indictment links him to the Rafael Caro Quintero trafficking group, and the Beltran-Leyva trafficking network.  Also, links him to Mayo Zambada.  

He pleaded guilty today, to all charges, the same as Damaso Lopez Serrano, last month.  He faces decades in prison.  But, this may not be his fate.  Only time and after many sentencing delays will this be known.  Some secrets may never make it out of the rooms in the MCC, some may.  His uncle is still a fugitive, which burns the insides of federal law enforcement.

He is again in the company of similar men, some younger, perhaps less serious, than the elusive Sonoran traffickers, who never posted on instagram, or opened a Twitter again.  They spoke with bullets and executions, tit for tat killings, blood splayed all over concrete, faces of hardened men, who made their fortunes in Sonora.

Sonora remains a battlefield, of feuding warlords, who answer to their bosses, relatives, cousins, uncles, further south. Sometimes anyway.  Clans of families who have trafficked across the Sonoran border for 60 years remain in power.  

El Cadete becomes another legend to die, or to become real.  He will serve out his sentence, and likely never return to the mountains of Sonora, or the luxury of Mexico City.  They may still play his songs, every so often, and not in the wrong place.  But among friends and those sympathetic, they will toast, and play his song.  Finish their drinks.  





62 comments:

  1. Great article. Thanks J, we never hear anything about Sonora. There and Durango are still news-blackout states.

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    1. So that's not just me? I hear about Sonora from time to time, but I never heard about Durango, despite it being part of the Golden Triangle and one of the Sinaloa Cartel's strongholds.

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    2. CDS got a firm grip of Durango stronger than Sonora so there is no need for countless slayings because there is not a strong presence of a rival cartel. Zetas tried to come in back when they were strong but they got taken out by CDS

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    3. There is two cartels there that dominate plus people from those states don't really have pride of those states so no local cartel will ever emerge from there. They all claim Sinaloa, specially Sonora people

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    4. 3:38 Your right, That's why things are calm in Durango. There's a huge sierra and alot of rugged land to work with.

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    5. There’s some shit talkin in here. What made CDS so strong was control of carretera quince along the west coast of Mexico up thru Sonora. Before Chapo y Mayo moved in on AFO and Juarez this was the main artery feeding the noses, needles, and pipes of Americans. Los Beltranes strength in Sonora is what made opening up Juarez and Tijuana so urgente porque Alfredo y Arturo were respected by the many getting paid from the carretera 15 corridor.

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    6. What are you talking about no pride in oir state? You have never meet anyone that is truly from Sonora, FYI , los chinolas fanfarrones nos pelan la verga, atte: Empalme

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    7. @3:00 asi o mas claro
      Atte: Potam Sonora

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    8. @5:47, no local cartel means no pride of our state has to be the most ignorant statement ever.

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    9. @5:47 your parents failed you

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    10. sonora got on the maps when plutarco elias calles and alvaro obregon hijacked the mexican revolution, but Manlio Fabio Beltrones "la fabis" and his partnership with all kind of criminals like the cartel de sinaloa and el guero Palma and the new sonoran mafia, and his boyfriend fernando gutierrez barrios owner of he DFS, is the root of modern sinaloa corruption

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  2. who ordered the hit on chapo trini?

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  3. For proper killers like this with balls,something or someone heavy must be on their asses,who is it?Are Los Menores(chapo sons)this heavy,Salazars,GN,or others?Always wondered why they were not killed by the crew who took them,either the shit they could get out of the sons or the repercussions of killing chapos sons,its amazing they werent killed,maybe the the threat against menchos son,who knows,not anyone here?

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    1. These jr narcos are not "proper killers", they are spoiled over privileged kids.

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    2. They earned the name los menores after that day, they wouldnt stop crying like kids. Mayo paid up, he took full control of CDS, los ninos collect an allowance.

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    3. 2:58 if they kidnapped them they should have took them out. But they hesitated and tried to backtrack, cjng even had the sicario teams involved killed (los bayos) from la barca and dumped their bodies into lake chapala to cover up their tracks but wasn’t enough. Guzmanes used the pull they had and wiped whole Damaso linea for betraying them. No half measures is what they should have known

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    4. IMO Los Damaso kidnapped them. He was trying to click up with Mencho. Mayo had Menchos kid snatched, and leveraged their release. Then the kidnappers all got whacked by Mencho for getting him involved, then Damaso went down.

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    5. They were not killes because originally El Cholo (Jalisco) was told Chapo kids were random people that owed Cadeta a large sum of money. Cadete knew if Cholo knew they were Chapo kids they would not have been kidnapped. Reason they were kidnapped was because Ivans faction killed some of Cadetes family in Sonora. Eventually Mencho found out, the rest is history. Also, not sure if anyone knows this bit Mencho has a godson who is a son to him. That is his right hand. Menchito would get jelous of him... He goes by the name of "el Prieto" Fun facts. You guys know Mencho daughter is Gerardo Ortiz GF?

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    6. Make sense now , there is a corrido of enigma norteño about the kippnad of the menores in puerto Vallarta, giving thanks to the people of Guadalajara ( Cjng) por el buen trato que les dieron " so how Cjng kippnaped them and helped them at the same time . This probably explain the war between cholo and mencho . If it was mencho behind the kippnap he would killed them but he knows there's codes and also mencho ordered to kille the whole crew ( los ballos en la Barca and chápala )that helped cholo , damaso, cadete to kippnaped the menores

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    7. 8:37 and 6:22 are both correct. The Jalisco attorney general stated that the 13 bodies found in lago Chapala back in 2016 were all members of a CJNG cell called Los Bollilos o Los Bayos. He went on to say that the head of the cell was kidnapped and taken to Michoacán (probably straight to Mencho) and executed. Furthermore, Los Bollilos or Los Bayos operated in El Cholo’s zone of control, giving support to the notion that Cholo either ordered the kidnapping, or that he unwittingly allowed it to occur.

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    8. To 8:37 to say that menchos daughter is gerardo ortiz girlfriend it is not true she is married to julio alberto castillo el julio

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    9. @6:22 what's the name of that corrido?

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    10. 8:53 "Les Tronaron El Pedorro a Los Chapitos"

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  4. So as soon as he was born he started seeling dope he was born in 1980 how is he known from the days of the old gaurd time line and his birth date along with first 2 paragraphs don't match otherwise
    3030

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    1. That was about Ciudad Obregon, not El Cadete. Sorry for any confusion.

      I know since Vicentillo was arrested, and extradited, there has been this theory that has persisted, esp. after the arrest of Serafin and Mayito Gordo, that Mayo Zambada has somehow sanctioned, or encouraged, or planned his sons to be arrested.

      That is 100% not true, and is just missing the way these things work. Vicnetillo betrayed his whole family by cooperating, maybe they forgive him or maybe they gave him the OK, but he told everything.

      Cooperation isn't exclusive. It has to be everything or nothing at all. El Cadete, must have felt this was his last resort, or best move, because his life isn't going to be the same. No matter if he gets 15 years or 20, he won't ever live the same life, and he will have to give everything on his Uncle, if he does cooperate.

      If the DOJ thinks you aren't being forthcoming, your whole plea is voided and you face whatever the prosectors ask the judge for, and the judge agrees to.

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    2. Thanks for writing J! You are the best writer ever!

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    3. Pleading guilty and dropping demands for the CIA to come and testify must help some, and you don't have to do much "witnessing" against anybody else, the DEA caught Vicente Zambada Niebla, and not much else can be done there, but there are levers to pull along the line. Remember the CIA and the mexican DFS and Sinaloa are drug trafficking partners and who created CRACK FOR THE MASSES? it sure wasn't El Vicentillo...

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    4. I dunno J....Vicentillo didn't give up everything. He was daddy's right hand. He knew everything. Mayo still never caught, and operating. Chapitos still out, and operating. CDS still one of the largest DTO's in existence. He gave up lots about BLO, and Zetas...I'm sure he gave up some about CDS, but nothing too drastic. He bought his sentence. His brothers will too. Even Chino. They will all be back. Only Chapo's fate is sealed. That's all his fault. The Zambadas keep rolling.

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    5. Vicentillo gave up information on his dad and chapo, unfortunatly mayo was never captured and will probably die of natural causes.

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    6. Rafa esta con sinaloa. Hace unos meses fue su cumple y ahi estaba el ivan. Lps quinteros son grande de familia. Pero jose gil y cadete tenian pleito con el chapo aparte eran linea de beltranes. Cadete se entrego por que salio mal con su tio jose gil. Era quien lo protejia y se sintio desprotejido y en vez de terminar muerto se entrego. Y a rafa no se le podia hacercar.. Esa es una pregunta de guerra contra los quintero para donde se iria rafa con sinaloa o su sangre. Uds saben que las familias salen algunos abuzones y cagazones y que no respetan ni su sangre asi era cadete eso rafa no lo miraba bien.
      JAGL.

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    7. 12:03 vicente zambada niebla went to trial like 5 years after they extradited him, any old news they got from him could not be very useful, but you may know what he gave to the uS narks, please tell us.

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    8. I have to agree,some fools on here actually think they(Zambadas) planned this ?

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    9. Vicentillo pleaded guilty in 2013, and started cooperating from that point on, at least.....By the time his guilty plea was unsealed in April 2014, Chapo had been captured in Mazatlan, and if you remember they were really going for Mayo too, in Culiacan, before they got El 20/Pena.

      In January 2015 Operation Narco Polo was unsealed, which had been going on since November 2011 (and in all fairness didn't originate with Vicentillo) but by the time of its end, had indicted

      Los Antrax
      All the Tijuana plaza bosses
      All the heaviest players in Culiacan
      Mayo
      Mayito Gordo
      Mayito
      Flaco
      Serafin Zambada
      Chino

      Then the Chicago case, which really hit Chapo's people hard.

      Vicentillo have up everything, his family knew this, or they realized it, and they changed up everything, standard procedure.

      These things take time, Javier Arellano Felix started cooperating sometime in 2008 or so, and it wasn't revealed until 2015, but by that time, and now the Arellano-Felix are corridos and rumors, with nothing left.

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    10. jagl , lo de abuzon y pasado es cierto hablando con un tio politico de ellos dijo ke de el cadete lo uniko ke lo llevo a ser respetado era usar el apellido aunke sus tios no lo tragaran por pasado de v.

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    11. Ser hijo del baron de babunica le quedo grande, y se le subio ala cabeza.. son dinastia grande y muy pesada, don emilio y su hermano juanjo eran muy grandes

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  5. @258pm
    Maybe mz.... he is old school and have heard if you disrupt his thing, it’s either turn yourself in and serve your time or die.

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  6. Is the new move, caro quintero told him mijo get your self a good deal, like mayo's sons a few millions on fines,which you are going to get back on the interest of the bank accounts that you have spread around new identity,freedom and ready to start a new life. El mayo is not stupid he figured out that was the best move for his children.

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  7. Replies
    1. Legend has it he is now cooperating with Goverment

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  8. Anyone kow any corridoz bout this guy besides the alfredito olivas?

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  9. With this guy and Chapo Trini out the picture does anyone know how much influence BLO still have in Sonora?

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    1. I'm in Obregon. Not sure how much influence they have hear but the shooting at night has increased greatly since Trini got killed, an even more now that El cadete turned himself in. I think the Salazars probably have the most influence in Sonora, but I only say that because it is the name I hear most often related to Narco activity in this area.

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    2. I believe their influence has fallen mainly because this guy turned himself in if he had the pull as before he wouldn't had to

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    3. @10:17 is that a hint that blo is with rcq and if they are why did Toni turn himself in? If they still hold power

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    4. Los salazar couldnt evem take sonoyta... i am sure los memos kicked them out of Sonora

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    5. 100 Percent Los Salazar’s are operating in Sonora today. @ 6:32am, it’s clear you don’t live south of Hermosillo or know shit about who runs what in Sonora.
      I’m sure Plenty of the people that read this have been to southern Sonora and they will tell you the same. The Salazar’s have the most influence in southern Sonora.

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  10. And Chavez jr married Edgar Guzman’s girlfriend!!!! It’s a cluster fuck literally.

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  11. En el negocio nadie dura para siempre me pregunto como le ha hecho don mayo tanto tiempo.

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    1. @5:53
      La Palanca y dinero

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    2. 5:53 El que a buen árbol se arrima, buena sombra lo cobija,
      El Mayo Zamabada may not be talking, but you don't need to ask about the obvious. Have you seen El Mayo in Forbes list of billionaires?

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    3. Muy cierto don mayo no presume su poder y aun asi todos lo respetan.

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  12. Sonora is a strange thing, here's a weird calm, in Hermosillo and everywhere, obviously there's violence but it's not that big scale and notorious as in other places, no curfew in cities or wild battles but you have things like the Tubutama ambush and all the desert towns have similar stores, lots of rural zones are in conflict, but still "nothing happens" here, the state where Amado Carrillo was building his arabian house before his death.

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  13. Thanks for the great article J. We appreciate your explanation of various events in Sonora and tying some together.

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  14. Anonymous January 26, 2018 at 7:38 AM
    How do you know Los Bayos were involved in the kidnapping of Los Menores?

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  15. My family is from sonora (navajoa) the Salazar family has been their for years, they control most of sonora. They dont mess with nobody unless you are trying to take their spot!

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  16. Okay you have to know a lot of history about agua Prieta and and Sonora. The Paredes Machado family, the salazars, Roscon Ramirez family. Tito torbellino died, a very important player in Sonora was murdered as well by a guy they called 20. Later retaliation for Tito torbellino. Basically all the people that were allied with Sinaloa wipe to those idiots out.

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  17. Mandy Moreno. The gate keepers of agua prieta took bad hits since 2011.

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  18. Hi! I've been reading your blog for some time now and finally got the courage to go ahead
    and give you a shout out from Huffman Texas! Just wanted to tell you keep
    up the great job!

    ReplyDelete

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