Jorge López Pérez
NationalityMexican
Other names
  • El Chuta
Employers
Criminal charge
  • Drug trafficking
Criminal statusFugitive

Jorge López Pérez, also known as El Chuta, is a Mexican suspected drug lord and high-ranking member of Los Zetas, a criminal group based in Tamaulipas, Mexico. López Pérez joined the Mexican Army in 1979. He specialized in martial arts, parachuting, explosives and guerrilla warfare tactics. In 1981, he deserted from the military and joined a cell of the Juárez Cartel, where he coordinated drug trafficking operations in Cancún. In the early 2000s, López Pérez left and worked as an independent trafficker before joining the Gulf Cartel. He became one of the first members of the cartel's newly formed paramilitary wing, Los Zetas. Like López Pérez, most of the first members of Los Zetas were ex-military. Wanted on drug trafficking charges, he is one of the last remaining fugitives from the early Zetas generation.

Early life and career

López Pérez joined the Mexican Army on 1 October 1979.[1] He was enrolled as a paratrooper in the Parachute Rifle Brigade (Spanish: Brigada de Fusileros Paracaidistas) and was stationed at the Santa Lucía military base in the State of Mexico.[2][3] During his tenure in the military, he became a specialist in martial arts, parachuting, explosives and guerrilla warfare tactics.[1][3] He deserted from the military on 17 September 1981.[1] López Pérez then joined the Juárez Cartel and was assigned to head drug trafficking operations in Cancún.[4] He was part of a Quintana Roo-based cell headed by kingpin Alcides Ramón Magaña ("El Metro").[2] The local gang was known as the Cancún Cartel and/or the Southeast Cartel.[5] When Ramón Magaña was arrested in June 2001,[6] his colleague Jesús Albino Quintero Meraz ("El Beto") contacted López Pérez with a new job offer. Quintero Meraz suggested that he join the Gulf Cartel under kingpin Osiel Cárdenas Guillén.[4][7] However, López Pérez moved to Veracruz and became successful as an independent drug trafficker instead.[2] After Quintero Meraz was arrested in 2002,[8] López Pérez moved to Yucatán to manage Colombian narcotics with several local smugglers. He fled to Tamaulipas in 2003 after the Mexican Army's efforts to apprehend him intensified.[2]

Once in Tamaulipas, he was hired by Rogelio González Pizaña ("Z-2") and formally joined Los Zetas, the Gulf Cartel's newly formed paramilitary group that was originally composed of ex-commandos.[2][9] López Pérez knew a number of members of Los Zetas from his days in the military.[2] His alias "El Chuta" derived from the word "parachuting".[3] López Pérez is often cited as one of the founding members of Los Zetas.[10] When the group was formed in the late 1990s, it was originally responsible for proving security services to Cárdenas Guillén and carrying out executions on the cartel's behalf. However, it underwent organizational changes over the years and began to involve itself in other criminal activities, like drug trafficking alongside the Gulf Cartel.[11] Due to his previous experience in the Juárez Cartel and his knowledge of drug operations in the area,[2] López Pérez was assigned to coordinate drug trafficking activities for Los Zetas in Cancún. He was responsible for coordinating smuggling activities at the Cancún International Airport. According to security forces, López Pérez and other members of Los Zetas based in the Mexican states of Quintana Roo, Yucatán, Chiapas and Campeche receive protection from corrupt municipal authorities and former members of the Juárez Cartel.[4]

In Los Zetas, he reported directly to Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano ("Z-3"), who co-headed the criminal group with Miguel Treviño Morales ("Z-40").[12] In 2002, López Pérez and his colleague Jesús Enrique Rejón Aguilar ("El Mamito") were responsible for training new Zetas' hires.[13] In 2004, he was responsible for coordinating international drug trafficking shipments in the Riviera Maya, an area that extended from Cancún to Tulum. This region was a strategic reception area for Los Zetas because it allowed them to receive South American narcotics arriving by boat. The drugs were stored in Playa del Carmen and Cancún for further distribution.[2] In 2009, he was cited as a regional leader of Los Zetas in the state of Coahuila, a region he reportedly shared with Galindo Mellado Cruz ("Z-9").[14] That year Mexican federal authorities listed him, along with Lazcano, Rejón Aguilar, Gustavo González Castro ("El Erótico") and Flavio Méndez Santiago, as one of the leading fugitives in Los Zetas.[15]

In early 2012, López Pérez headed operations for Los Zetas in northeastern Mexico and was paid directly by Lazcano.[12] Among his colleagues in this region were González Castro, José Alberto González Xalate ("El Paisa") and Salvador Alfonso Martínez Escobedo ("La Ardilla").[lower-alpha 1][16] Intelligence reports state that López Pérez was especially loyal to Lazcano, just like Zetas lieutenants González Castro, González Xalate, Juan Carlos Morales González ("El Peluchin"), Iván Velázquez Caballero ("El Talibán"), Prisciliano Ibarra Yepis and Raúl Lucio Hernández Lechuga ("El Lucky"). Several of them were once part of the Grupo Aeromóvil de Fuerzas Especiales (GAFE), the army's special forces.[12]

Charges and status

On 18 June 2003, Mexico's Attorney General's Office (PGR) placed an unspecified bounty on 31 members of Los Zetas, including López Pérez.[17] Authorities stated that López Pérez was "highly dangerous", given his military background and his suspected role in homicides, drug trafficking, kidnappings, and carjackings.[18] This announcement was made after the Specialized Unit Against Organized Crime (UEDO) identified him as a high-ranking member of Los Zetas following the 14 March arrest of Cárdenas Guillén.[19] Unlike other Zetas members who voluntarily requested their release from the military, López Pérez had deserted and joined organized crime, which is considered high treason in a military court; López Pérez was wanted by the PGR, the Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA) and the Secretariat of Public Security (SSP) for his outstanding charges.[1][20]

Few details of his criminal activities are known; unlike the rest of the early members of Los Zetas, who were arrested and/or killed over the years, López Pérez reportedly disappeared from public view.[21][22] Mexican authorities believe that he is trying to live a low-profile existence to avoid detection since there is an outstanding arrest warrant for him.[23] He is one of the last remaining fugitives from the early Zetas generation.[lower-alpha 2][25][26]

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ The cited source misspells his second last name as Escobar.[16]
  2. ↑ Other early members of the criminal group who remain at large are: Prisciliano Ibarra Yepis, Gustavo González Castro, Rogelio Guerra Ramírez ("El Guerra"), Carlos Vera Calva ("El Vera"), Daniel Enrique Márquez Aguilar ("El Chocotorro"), Benjamín Torres Sosa, Eduardo Estrada Gonzalez and Leopoldo Flores Soto.[23][24]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Grayson 2012, p. 227.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Osorno, Daniel Enrique (9 November 2004). "La banda de 'Los Zetas' ya opera en Quintana Roo". Diario de Monterrey (in Spanish).
  3. 1 2 3 "La franquicia paramilitar se desmorona". Estado Mayor (in Spanish). 15 May 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 "Otro fracaso de la PGR: ahora Greg Sánchez queda libre". SinEmbargo (in Spanish). 20 June 2011. Archived from the original on 25 October 2019.
  5. ↑ Callejo Anzures 2002, p. 60.
  6. ↑ Aranda, Jesus (14 June 2001). "Capturan en Tabasco al capo Alcides Ramón Magaña". La Jornada (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 22 January 2019.
  7. ↑ "El sofisticado ejército del narco". Proceso (in Spanish). 18 January 2004. Archived from the original on 10 April 2019.
  8. ↑ "Golpe al narcotráfico: detienen a Jesús Albino Quintero, 'El Beto'". Proceso (in Spanish). 27 May 2002.
  9. ↑ Borges 2008, p. 79.
  10. ↑ Sanchez Lopez, Jose (23 July 2013). "Nacen los 'Zetas'". Al Momento (in Spanish). Mexico City. Archived from the original on 1 August 2013.
  11. ↑ Logan, Samuel (16 February 2012). "A Profile of Los Zetas: Mexico's Second Most Powerful Drug Cartel". Combating Terrorism Center. Archived from the original on 26 August 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  12. 1 2 3 Grayson 2012, p. 25-29.
  13. ↑ Ravelo 2006, p. 185-186.
  14. ↑ Alzaga, Ignacio (11 September 2008). "La mitad del país, bajo el mando de Los Zetas". Milenio (in Spanish) – via Dossier Político.
  15. ↑ Herrera, Rolando (9 January 2009). "Cae en DF ex militar que fundó los 'Zetas'". El Norte (in Spanish). Monterrey, Nuevo Leon. Archived from the original on 20 March 2019.
  16. 1 2 Esquivel, J. Jesús (31 March 2012). "Un gobierno paralelo, el objetivo del gobierno". Proceso (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 February 2013.
  17. ↑ "La PGR ofrece recompensa por 31 narcotraficantes". La Crónica de Hoy (in Spanish). Notimex. 19 June 2003. Archived from the original on 23 September 2019.
  18. ↑ "Ofrecen recompensa por asesinos a sueldo". El Siglo de Torreón (in Spanish). 19 June 2003. Archived from the original on 23 September 2019.
  19. ↑ "Ofrece PGR recompensa por exmilitares, sicarios de Osiel Cárdenas". Proceso (in Spanish). 18 June 2003. Archived from the original on 23 September 2019.
  20. ↑ "Muestran 'Los Zetas' poderío de inteligencia". El Norte (in Spanish). Monterrey, Nuevo Leon. 18 January 2004. Archived from the original on 20 March 2019.
  21. ↑ Sánchez de Tagle, Omar (16 July 2013). "Así queda la estructura de Los Zetas tras la captura del 'Z-40'". Animal Politico (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2 August 2019.
  22. ↑ Gómez, Francisco (30 January 2011). "Los Zetas originales, diezmados en una década". El Universal (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 13 October 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
  23. 1 2 "Se diluye base militar de 'Los Zetas'". Noticias de Veracruz (in Spanish). 27 May 2014.
  24. ↑ "El origen de 'Los Zetas': brazo armado del cártel del Golfo". CNNMéxico (in Spanish). Turner Broadcasting System. 5 July 2011. Archived from the original on 12 February 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
  25. ↑ Reyez, José (6 September 2009). "El imperio del Lazca durante el foxismo". Contralínea (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 22 January 2019.
  26. ↑ "Libres, únicamente 11 de 40 desertores que fundaron Los Zetas". Milenio (in Spanish). 20 October 2009 – via Dossier Político.

Bibliography

Further reading

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