HomeNewsAnalysisBlog del Narco: What Next for Beltran-Leyva Cartel?
ANALYSIS

Blog del Narco: What Next for Beltran-Leyva Cartel?

BELTRAN LEYVA ORG / 1 NOV 2010 BY INSIGHT CRIME EN

Days after granting a rare interview, the anonymous author of the Blog del Narco, which publishes uncensored images of Mexico's drug violence, has posted an analysis of what lies next for the Beltran Leyva Organization.

Days after granting a rare interview, the anonymous author of the Blog del Narco, which publishes uncensored images of Mexico's drug violence, has posted an analysis of what lies next for the Beltrán Leyva Organization. The author cites an unnamed Defense Ministry report throughout, and also makes vague references to unspecified "military" sources. So while much of the article's analysis can not be verified, let alone fact-checked, the author still makes a few key points.

The first is that the recent high-profile captures of Beltrán Leyva operatives, including the hitmen known as Edgar Valdez Villareal, alias "La Barbie," and Sergio Villareal Barragán, alias "El Grande," do not necessarily indicate the fracturing of the cartel, as some Mexican authorities have claimed. As long as a criminal group's financial structure is not targeted, the author argues, then it doesn't really matter how may top or mid-level operatives are arrested. This is very similar to the argument Ron Chepesiuk makes in his book "Drug Lords," which tracks the unraveling of the Cali cartel. Chepesiuk points out that the Cali cartel only began to significantly weaken after the US Treasury began targeting the group's money laundering and front businesses via the "Kingpin" act. According to Blog del Narco, the Defense Ministry has concluded that Beltrán Leyva Organization is still financially strong, even though the leadership has been in flux since Arturo Beltrán Leyva's death in December 2009. Attacking a DTO's finances, rather than prioritizing the capture of its leaders, makes sense considering that most DTOs are not vertical structures. Beltrán Leyva is a good example, Blog del Narco asserts. The group is described as a "pyramid," consisting of compartmentalized cells operating pretty much independently from each other, making and breaking alliances at their own convenience rather than following the commands of a single, easily identified leader.

According to the blog's author, Sonora and Morelos will be key states for the Beltrán Leyva Organization, and the group will only be able to hold onto this territory by reaffirming alliances with the Juarez and Gulf Cartel. The group had suffered from inner divisions even before the death of Arturo Beltrán Leyva in December 2009. Rather than signifying a blow to the cartel's leadership, the arrests of Valdez and Villareal could actually give their rival Héctor Beltrán Leyva the time and space he needs to regroup and negotiate new partnerships with other DTOs. If Blog del Narco's predictions come true, we could see something very similar to what happened in 2001, when Joaquín Guzmán Loera, alias "El Chapo," of the Sinaloa Cartel negotiated the formation of the "Federation", which divvied up territory and drug-trafficking routes between various DTOs, in the interest of supplanting the Gulf Cartel. In this case, however, the new interest may be displacing not the Gulf, but their former armed wing, the Zetas.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

EL MENCHO / 18 NOV 2021

The arrest of the wife of CJNG boss El Mencho is being interpreted as a win against the cartel and…

ELITES AND CRIME / 30 SEP 2021

Evidence and accusations are piling up against Mexico's former top security official Genaro García Luna, as US prosecutors proffer new…

FENTANYL / 18 APR 2022

Mexican authorities have intercepted a succession of flights carrying synthetic drugs to the northern state of Sonora, raising questions over…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Continues to be Highlighted

3 MAR 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-director Jeremy McDermott was the featured guest on the Americas Quarterly podcast, where he provided an expert overview of the changing dynamics…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela's Organized Crime Top 10 Attracts Attention

24 FEB 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published its ranking of Venezuela’s ten organized crime groups to accompany the launch of the Venezuela Organized Crime Observatory. Read…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime on El País Podcast

10 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-founder, Jeremy McDermott, was among experts featured in an El País podcast on the progress of Colombia’s nascent peace process.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Interviewed by Associated Press

3 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s Co-director Jeremy McDermott was interviewed by the Associated Press on developments in Haiti as the country continues its prolonged collapse. McDermott’s words were republished around the world,…

THE ORGANIZATION

Escaping Barrio 18

27 JAN 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published an investigation charting the story of Desafío, a 28-year-old Barrio 18 gang member who is desperate to escape gang life. But there’s one problem: he’s…