HomeNewsBriefMexico Captures Another 'Mastermind' of Migrant Massacre
BRIEF

Mexico Captures Another 'Mastermind' of Migrant Massacre

HUMAN SMUGGLING / 9 OCT 2012 BY GEOFFREY RAMSEY EN

Mexican authorities claim to have captured the Zetas boss behind a 2010 massacre of 72 Central American migrants -- the second time they have claimed to have found the man behind this crime.

On October 8, Mexican Navy spokesman Jose Luis Vergara announced that authorities had arrested Salvador Alfonso Martinez Escobedo, alias “Ardilla,” a Zetas boss who Vergara said was the mastermind of the 2010 killings in San Fernando, Tamaulipas. Martinez is also accused of committing at least 50 other murders.

According to officials, Martinez is a close confidant of Zetas kingpin Miguel Angel Treviño Morales, alias “Z-40,” and managed the group’s turf battle against the rival Gulf Cartel.

InSight Crime Analysis

This is the second time that the authorities have claimed to have captured the "mastermind" behind the San Fernando massacre. In April 2011, Omar Martin Estrada, alias “El Kilo,” was identified as the "intellectual author" of the killings.

The high profile of the massacre creates an incentive for the Mexican authorities to claim that the case has been solved, reflecting a political need to identify a “bad guy” that authorities can hold up as proof of their success.

In addition to the massacre, officials have alleged that Martinez orchestrated two mass prison breaks. The first involved the escape of 151 prisoners in 2010 from a Nuevo Laredo Jail, and the second occurred in September in the border city of Piedras Negras, when 131 inmates escaped. He has also been accused of killing US citizen David Hartley in 2010, while the latter was waterskiing on Falcon Lake on the US-Mexico border.

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

COVID AND CRIME / 22 JUL 2021

After peddling fake tests and vaccines for the coronavirus, criminals are now selling counterfeit vaccination certificates in Mexico City, allowing…

ELITES AND CRIME / 30 JUN 2021

The embattled governor of a northern border state in Mexico is touting the timely arrests of those allegedly responsible for…

COCAINE / 7 JUN 2022

A Mexican drug trafficking ring with connections to cartels operated marijuana plantations and cocaine processing labs in Spain, displaying how…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

All Eyes on Ecuador

2 JUN 2023

Our coverage of organized crime in Ecuador continues to be a valuable resource for international and local news outlets. Internationally, Reuters cited our 2022 Homicide Round-Up,…

WORK WITH US

Open Position: Social Media and Engagement Strategist

27 MAY 2023

InSight Crime is looking for a Social Media and Engagement Strategist who will be focused on maintaining and improving InSight Crime’s reputation and interaction with its audiences through publishing activities…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Receives Great Reception

27 MAY 2023

Several of InSight Crime’s most recent articles about Venezuela have been well received by regional media. Our article on Venezuela’s colectivos expanding beyond their political role to control access to…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Chemical Precursor Report Continues

19 MAY 2023

For the second week in a row, our investigation into the flow of precursor chemicals for the manufacture of synthetic drugs in Mexico has been cited by multiple regional media…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Chemical Precursor Report Widely Cited

THE ORGANIZATION / 12 MAY 2023

We are proud to see that our recently published investigation into the supply chain of chemical precursors feeding Mexico’s synthetic drug production has been warmly received.