Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, alias “El Viceroy,” inherited the Juárez Cartel after his brother’s death in 1997. At that point, the group was one of the most powerful drug trafficking organizations in Mexico.
What is El Viceroy’s Story?
Born in Navolato, Sinaloa, El Viceroy took over the Juárez Cartel in 1997, together with José Esparragoza, alias “El Azul” — who would later become part of the Sinaloa Cartel — after his brother Amado Carrillo Fuentes, better known as “The Lord of the Skies,” died during plastic surgery. When El Viceroy took control, the Juárez Cartel was Mexico’s most powerful drug trafficking organization.
El Viceroy had been wanted by the US Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) since August 16, 2000, after a federal jury in Texas charged him with several crimes, including murder, drug trafficking, and money laundering. The US government offered a reward of up to $5 million for information that would lead to his capture, while the Mexican Attorney General’s Office offered a reward of up to 30 million pesos.
The Juárez Cartel was responsible for transporting multiple tons of cocaine from Colombia through Mexico to the United States. During Amado Carrillo’s leadership, the Juárez Cartel dominated the business, largely thanks to its links with federal authorities that offered the group protection. Vicente continued with drug trafficking on a smaller scale, but in a much more violent environment.
The Juárez Cartel had been allied with the Sinaloa Cartel until 2004 when the group’s leader, Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, allegedly ordered the killing of El Viceroy’s brother, Rodolfo Carrillo Fuentes. Subsequently, El Viceroy ordered the murder of El Chapo’s brother, who was in prison at the time.
The end of the alliance between the two groups triggered a violent war in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, the Juárez Cartel’s hometown and bastion. The war lasted several years as the rivals cartels fought over control of drug markets and trafficking routes. Then, in 2007, the Juárez Cartel battled the Gulf Cartel in a conflict that lasted several years and turned Ciudad Juárez into the world’s most violent city, with at least 8,000 dead.
El Viceroy confronted the Sinaloa Cartel and its hitmen, known as Gente Nueva, with a combination of the Juárez Cartel’s own armed wing, La Línea, and the US-based gang Barrio Azteca. Despite this, the Sinaloa Cartel proved too powerful, likely enjoying the support of federal authorities, and the Sinaloa Cartel eventually managed to weaken the Juárez Cartel and increase its own power.
Following the war with the Sinaloa Cartel, El Viceroy changed his name and appearance and moved to the city of Torreón, Coahuila, where he was captured on October 9, 2014. He was sentenced to 28 years in prison by the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) in June 2015. He was granted constitutional protection the following year but remained in prison. In 2017, formal imprisonment was reimposed.
In 2021, Mexican authorities found him guilty of organized crime with the intent to commit crimes against public health, running operations involving funds of illicit origin, and stockpiling firearms. He was also accused in the United States of drug trafficking, organized crime, cocaine trafficking, money laundering, and possession of firearms.
El Viceroy was held at the Puente Grande prison in the state of Jalisco until February 27, 2025, when he was transferred to the United States along with 28 other high-profile Mexican drug traffickers—including members of the Zetas, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación – CJNG), the Gulf Cartel, the Familia Michoacana, and the Beltrán Leyva Organization (BLO)—who had been imprisoned in various facilities across the country.
On June 24, 2025, a federal judge in New York granted El Viceroy a 90-day period to negotiate a plea deal that could spare him a life sentence. The ruling followed his transfer to the United States and came as part of a plea negotiation process he had already begun.
At the start of 2026, he pleaded not guilty.
What Crimes Was El Viceroy Involved in?
El Viceroy’s criminal history is long.
He is currently facing charges in the United States for organized crime, drug trafficking, money laundering, and weapons possession.
He had also faced charges of murder, carrying restricted military weapons, and illicit association.
In Mexico, the Attorney General’s Office also claimed that El Viceroy controlled one of the most important cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and marijuana trafficking routes between Mexico and the United States.
Where Did El Viceroy Operate?
El Viceroy ran the Juárez Cartel from Ciudad Juárez, a city on the US-Mexico border in Chihuahua. After the group lost its influence in Chihuahua due to the conflict with the Sinaloa Cartel, El Viceroy allegedly fled to the city of Torreón in Coahuila.
The Juárez Cartel’s operations under Vicente Carillo reportedly extended into a number of states around the country.
Who Were El Viceroy’s Allies and Enemies?
The Juárez Cartel maintained an alliance with the Sinaloa Cartel until 2004 when conflict exploded between the two groups. The Juárez Cartel also fought the Gulf Cartel in Ciudad Juárez during a conflict that began in 2007.
In 2008, El Viceroy managed to establish one of the most crucial alliances in the fight against the Sinaloa Cartel by partnering with former allies of El Chapo, the Beltran Leyva Organization. Additionally, the Juárez Cartel was associated with the Zetas and drug suppliers in Colombia, such as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia – FARC) and the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia – AUC).
What is El Viceroy’s Outlook?
The Carrillo Fuentes brothers held primary control over the Juárez Cartel, so Vicente’s capture significantly weakened the organization. However, small cells once part of the criminal organization still operate in Chihuahua and continue to clash with the Sinaloa Cartel.
After his transfer to the United States in February 2025, the judge overseeing El Viceroy’s case approved his defense team’s request to negotiate a plea deal that could spare him a life sentence. In early 2026, El Viceroy pleaded not guilty.
