SUMMARY
The Beltrán Leyva Cartel is one of the major drug trafficking cartels in Mexico battling each other for control over territory and smuggling routes.
The Cartel originates from the Sinaloa Cartel for which the four Beltrán Leyva brothers Arturo, Alfredo, Carlos and Hector, used to work as security enforcers. The Beltrán Leyva brothers started out as small-scale drug dealers in their home state Sinaloa and became involved with the Sinaloa Cartel in the 1990s. Through marriage the Beltrán Leyva family came closer to the Guzman Loera family who controls the Sinaloa Cartel and in the early 2000s they agreed to form an alliance. The Beltrán Leyva brothers, under the leadership of Arturo “El Barbas” Beltrán Leyva, became responsible for controlling a combat force used to fight the other cartels, primarily Los Zetas the armed wing of the Gulf Cartel. The Beltrán Leyva brothers recruited several former police officers who formed the hit squad Los Negros, and also a man named Edgar “El Barbie” Valdez Villareal and his force Los Pelones.
In May 2008 the Beltrán Leyva brothers broke with Guzman as a result of Guzmans suspected involvement in the capture of Alfredo Beltrán Leyva in January 2008. Heavy fighting erupted between the two factions after the Beltrán Leyva gang killed Guzmans son in Culiacan, Sinaloa on 8 May 2008. The Beltrán Leyva brothers allied with their former enemies in Los Zetas and violence intensified in Sinaloa state.
In December 2009, the leader of the Beltrán Leyva Cartel Arturo “El Barbas” Beltrán Leyva, also known as “El jefe de jefes”, was killed by Mexican Marines in Morelos state and a power struggle erupted within the organisation. The second brother, Carlos Beltrán Leyva, was arrested in January 2010 and Hector “El H” Beltrán Leyva became the new leader of the group. Following the death of Arturo a split occurred between his security chief Edgar “El Barbie” Valdez Villarreal and new leader Hector as Hector chose Sergio “El Grande” Villarreal Barragán as his top enforcer instead of Valdéz Villarreal. Heavy fighting erupted between Hector’s forces and the faction led by Valdez Villareal in the states of Guerrero and Morelos. In September 2010 Villarreal Barragán was arrested and towards the end of the year, the Beltrán Leyva Cartel had been severely weakened due to the arrests of important leaders and the fighting against Valdez Villareal.
The Beltrán Leyva Cartel has access to advanced weaponry, such as grenade launchers, and is a well-organised combat group. Torture, decapitations and mutilations of the victims bodies are common and threatening messages to rival groups are often found next to the victims’ bodies. In addition to drug smuggling, the cartel is also involved in human trafficking, extortion, kidnapping and money laundering.
In 2010 the Beltrán Leyva Cartel and Los Zetas allied with the Juarez Cartel and the Tijuana Cartel to fight their common enemies in the Gulf Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel.
The Beltrán Leyva Cartel has been involved in the non-state category of UCDP organised violence.
