HomeNewsBriefEcuador Captures Alleged Link Between 'Loco' Barrera, Sinaloa Cartel
BRIEF

Ecuador Captures Alleged Link Between 'Loco' Barrera, Sinaloa Cartel

ECUADOR / 13 FEB 2012 BY GEOFFREY RAMSEY EN

Police in Ecuador have captured a man who allegedly serves as the link between powerful drug cartels in Colombia and Mexico, in a sign that the authorities could be moving closer to capturing Colombian kingpin Daniel "El Loco" Barrera.

Heriberto Fernandez Ramirez, alias “Beto,” was a high value target for Colombian police, and is believed to have been extremely well-connected in the country’s criminal underworld. After tracking him for some time, Colombian police alerted their counterparts in Ecuador that Fernandez was in the port city of Guayaquil. He was arrested on February 7, and transferred to Colombia. Fernandez is also sought by the US on drug trafficking charges.

Fernandez Ramirez reportedly began his criminal career as a middleman for Maximiliano Bonilla, alias “Valenciano,” who was captured last November in Venezuela. After a disagreement two years ago, Fernandez broke with Valenciano and allegedly began working for Daniel Barrera Barrera, alias “El Loco Barrera.” Fernandez is thought to have become a key link between the Colombian kingpin and Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, allegedly meeting Sinaloa operatives in Honduras to set up drug shipments.

InSight Crime Analysis

The capture of Fernandez is the latest sign that authorities are monitoring Barrera’s drug network, and are getting closer to arresting Barrera himself. The kingpin is coming under increasing pressure from law enforcement, so much so that he may have killed a former associate of his in June for fear that he intended to betray him to the authorities. Indeed, intelligence sources have told InSight Crime that Barrera is considering turning himself in, and has begun negotiating the terms of his surrender with US officials.

The allegation that Barrera sent Fernandez to Honduras to meet lieutenants of the Sinaloa Cartel’s Joaquin Guzman, alias “El Chapo,” is significant. The deteriorated rule of law in Honduras, along with the high incidence of police corruption, have made the country an ideal transit point for drug trafficking organizations in the region. In September, Honduran Defense Minister Marlon Pascua claimed that 87 percent of cocaine which is sent from South America to the United States passes through Honduras. If Fernandez and Sinaloa Cartel representatives actually met in Honduras, it could suggest that the Mexican cartel is seeking to cut out Central American middlemen.

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

COCAINE / 29 JUN 2022

Turkish and foreign law enforcement have seized record quantities of cocaine heading from South America to Turkey, revealing the growing…

JALISCO CARTEL / 3 SEP 2021

Criminal groups in Mexico are posting in public lists of police they plan to kill, and the message often comes…

BELTRAN LEYVA ORG / 7 JAN 2022

Murders have spiked in Mexico's northern state of Sonora, thanks to the volatile mix of a veteran drug trafficker's alleged…

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…