Juárez Cartel

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Founded in the 1970s, the cartel saw Rafael Aguilar Guajardo and Amado Carrillo Fuentes take power after Pablo Acosta Villarreal was killed by Mexican Federal Police helicopters in Santa Elena in April 1987. After Guajardo was murdered by Amado in 1993, Amado became the leader until his death from plastic surgery complications in 1997. This event triggered a brief turf war where Vicente Carrillo Fuentes defeated the Muñoz Talavera brothers to assume leadership. During the 1990s and early 2000s, the cartel formed the 'Golden Triangle Alliance' with lords from Chihuahua, Durango, and Sinaloa. However, this alliance collapsed when Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán refused to pay for smuggling routes. In 2013, Alberto Carrillo Fuentes took leadership after Vicente retired due to illness, though Vicente was arrested in October 2014. By 2020, the cartel faced challenges from the Nuevo Cartel de Juárez and Los Salazar.

In Their Own Story

In September 2011, banners appeared publicizing the return of the 'extinct' cartel, signed by Cesar 'El Gato' Carrillo Leyva, a relative of the late Amado Carrillo Fuentes. The organization's history is marked by extreme violence; members were implicated in the serial murder site discovered in Ciudad Juárez in 2004, dubbed the 'House of Death.' On July 15, 2010, the cartel escalated violence to new levels by using a car bomb against federal police officers. The death of Amado Carrillo Fuentes in 1997 began a decline linked to his reliance on division general Jesús Gutiérrez Rebollo. By 2018, power had waned in Ciudad Juárez, and while La Línea remained the most powerful faction there by June 2020, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel also established a presence as the 'New Juarez Cartel.'

Reader's Guide

The cartel operates across 21 Mexican states with principal bases in Culiacán, Monterrey, Ciudad Juárez, Ojinaga, Mexico City, Guadalajara, Cuernavaca, and Cancún. La Línea serves as its most powerful faction, performing executions on the Mexican side, while Barrio Azteca attacks enemies in Texan cities like El Paso, Dallas, and Houston, as well as New Mexico and Arizona. The cartel has historically corrupted or intimidated high-ranking officials to acquire protection and intelligence. Following the collapse of the organization, some elements were absorbed by the Sinaloa Cartel. In 2019, Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán placed a bounty on leader Juan Pablo Ledezma for ending the alliance with the Sinaloa Cartel. Prior to 2012, the cartel controlled primary routes for billions of dollars in drug shipments annually before control shifted largely to the Sinaloa Cartel.

Did You Know?

• The cartel was known to decapitate rivals, mutilate corpses, and dump them in public places to instill fear.
• Its armed wing, La Línea, consists of current and former corrupt Chihuahua police officers.
• In 2013, Alberto Carrillo Fuentes took leadership after his brother Vicente retired due to a reported illness.
• Members were implicated in the serial murder site discovered in Ciudad Juárez in 2004, known as the 'House of Death'.
• The death of leader Amado Carrillo Fuentes in 1997 marked the beginning of the cartel's decline.