The narcos who "cheated death"

Translated by El Profe for Borderland Beat from La Silla Rota
                    

Allegedly killed in clashes, the death of these drug lords caused more doubts than certainties

by Rodrigo Gutiérrez González
 
"Better death than prison," is one of the phrases within the world of drug trafficking that has become a law for drug lords. 

Therefore, when they are cornered by authorities or rival gangs, they prefer to fight until the end before surrendering. 

However, the murder of several leaders of organized crime groups have inconsistencies that call into question the truth of their death.

In La Silla Rota we present some of these cases. 

Amado Carrillo, “El Señor de Los Cielos”
 
When Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, "The Chief of Chiefs"; Rafael Caro Quintero, "The Prince"; and Ernesto Fonseca, "Don Neto"; leaders of the Guadalajara Cartel, were arrested for the murder of the DEA undercover agent, Enrique "Kiki" Camarena, the drug trafficking throne was left empty, but not for long, as Amado Carrillo Fuentes arrived at its place, “The Lord of the Skies.”

Nicknamed this way for the enormous fleet of airplanes with which he transported drugs coming from Colombia to the United States, Amado Carillo was at the time the biggest drug capo in the country. 

The importance of "The Lord of the Skies" in the drug trade was such that he was among the most wanted drug lords by the FBI, and they even allocated more hours and special agents to investigate him than Osama Bin Laden, according to the book Los Señores Del Narco by Anabel Hernández.

However, when he was in the best times of his life, on July 5, 1997, he died in a poorly executed aesthetic operation. Said surgery was performed at Santa Monica de Polanco hospital, in Mexico City.
 
The next day, the body of Amado Carrillo was taken to the García López funeral home in the Juarez neighborhood, and then sent to Culiacán, to San Martín Funeral Chapels, where the body was confiscated by the Attorney General's Office (PGR).

"The Lord of the Skies" was allegedly taken to a military hospital, where a high-ranking officer involved in intelligence tasks ruled that the corpse did not correspond to the capo's.
 
The suspicions began after Mexican and US authorities did not agree with the version: the DEA confirmed hastily that the body was indeed Amado Carrillo, just two days after the death, while the PGR could not assure the same.

When in doubt, people close to the drug trafficker were taken to identify the body. However, they could not because Amado Carrillo had particular marks: a mole on his back with a lot of hair and a scar on one of his buttocks. None was on the confiscated body.
 
Not to mention that there is no DNA evidence to confirm the identity of the capo.
There began the legend around the capo. There are those who affirm that he retired as a protected witness for the US government in exchange for a new identity.

The death would have been at the right time for Carrillo Fuentes, because he had been a decade at the top of the drug trafficking world and the accusations against the family of former President Salinas de Gortari concerning his links with "The Lord of the Skies” did not favor him.

Currently, the PGR only has two press bulletins that tell rumors about the death of the capo and two more that detail the investigations, as well as the results with which the public ministry confirmed his death. 

Heriberto Lazcano, “El Lazca"
 
Heriberto Lazcano, "El Lazca,” defector of the Special Forces Aeromobile Group (GAFE) of the Mexican Army led the then most bloodthirsty criminal group in the country: Los Zetas.
 
The Zetas were the first to carry out atrocious bloodthirsty methods against their rivals such as decapitation, the dismemberment of bodies or "the pozole,” that is, dissolving corpses in acid or melting them in oil containers. 

They were also pioneers in expanding their illegal activities beyond drug trafficking: kidnappings, human trafficking, theft of fuel, and “derecho de piso.”

Born as the armed wing of the Gulf Cartel, "Los Zetas " became independent with the leadership of "El Lazca.” 

His atrocious violence caused Mexican and US authorities to place him as a main target in the fight against drugs. "El Lazca" was the second most wanted man in Mexico, only behind Joaquín Guzmán Loera "El Chapo.”

At the end of Felipe Calderón’s administration and from the beginning of Enrique Peña Nieto’s, the leaders of "Los Zetas" were getting caught.

This includes the fall of ”El Lazca" on October 7, 2012. However, his death left many doubts.
According to the official version, that Sunday, at a baseball field in El Progreso, Coahuila, elements of the Secretariat of the Navy (Semar) arrived after a complaint about the presence of armed men.
 
Upon arrival they saw a suspicious vehicle, which they tried to stop, then was responded with gunfire. The uniformed responded to the attack, which ended the life of the driver, identified as Alberto Rodríguez, 44, as well as another subject without identification who managed to get out of the vehicle but died 300 meters ahead. 

After collating the fingerprints with the national criminal files, it was confirmed that it was Heriberto Lazcano. 

However, at dawn on Monday, October 8, an armed commando had stolen the body from the funeral home where the autopsy was being carried out. The only record left was a photo of the capo.
 
Nazario Moreno, "El Chayo"

Founder and leader of la Familia Michoacana and later of the Knights Templar, Nazario Moreno, "El Chayo,” died twice.
 
First in 2010, when he was declared dead by the federal government after a confrontation with authorities.
 
However, the only evidence they had of the death was intercepted audio where elements of organized crime groups detailed the fall of the capo. 

Soon after, rumors began to go around that he was still alive, especially when the then Attorney General of the Republic, Jesús Murillo Karam, said he could not officially confirm or deny death because there was no concrete evidence. 

It was not until three years and three months later when it was confirmed, now, the death of "El Chayo".

Although the body was not shown either, this time fingerprints were exposed in comparison with previous records of the Military Service Record and the IFE credential. 

The death occurred in a confrontation at kilometer 13 of the municipal highway of Tumbiscatio, after the special forces of the Navy and Sedena located him and ordered him to surrender. El Chayo refused and opened fire on federal personnel, who shot him down. 

Juan José Esparragoza Moreno, “El Azul”
 
In June 2014, the weekly newspaper Ríodoce and its director, Javier Valdez, reported on the alleged death of Juan José Esparragoza Moreno, "El Azul,” a drug kingpin who had been part of the Guadalajara, Juarez, and Sinaloa cartels. 

The drug trafficker died of a heart attack when he was recovering from a car accident he suffered 15 days earlier. 

The location of death was never detailed, but claimed to have been in Mexico City or Jalisco.

According to the weekly, the remains of the drug trafficker were cremated immediately and his ashes were taken to Sinaloa.

At the time, family members confirmed the death of "El Azul,” including his son, Juan José Esparragoza Jiménez, however, Mexican and US authorities did not confirm or deny the facts.