Fausto Isidro Meza Flores (born June 19, 1982), commonly referred to by his criminal alias El Chapo Isidro ("Shorty Isidro"), is a Mexican drug lord and high-ranking leader of the

Beltrán Leyva Cartel Beltrán is a Spanish male given name and surname. In non-Spanish speaking countries, the accent is usually omitted as Beltran. It derives from the Germanic words berht ("bright") and hramn ("raven"). It shares this same Germanic origin with Bertran ...

, a drug trafficking organization. He is also the alleged leader of

Los Mazatlecos Los Mazatlecos (The Mazatlan people) is an enforcer gang of the Beltrán Leyva Cartel. It is reportedly led by Fausto Isidro Meza Flores. Activities Los Mazatlecos gang were formed in the coastal city of Mazatlán, Sinaloa, from where they t ...

and was right-hand man of the now deceased drug lord Héctor and the incarcerated

Alfredo Beltrán Leyva Alfredo Beltrán Leyva (born January 21, 1971), commonly referred to by his alias El Mochomo ( The Desert Ant), is a Mexican convicted drug lord and former leader of the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel, a drug trafficking organization. He was one of Mexic ...

. The FBI is offering a US$5 million bounty.

Criminal career

Early life and ascension

Meza Flores (known in the criminal world as ''El Chapo Isidro'') was born on June 19, 1982 in Navojoa, Sonora,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. He began his criminal career in the 1990s, at first working for the

Juárez Cartel The Juárez Cartel (Spanish: ''Cártel de Juárez''), also known as the Vicente Carrillo Fuentes Organization, is a Mexican drug cartel based in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, across the Mexico—U.S. border from El Paso, Texas. The cartel is one ...

under the tutelage of the then-leader Amado Carrillo Fuentes. After the drug lord died of plastic surgery complications in 1997, Meza Flores deserted the organization along with several other drug traffickers and decided to join the forces of the

. As a member of the Beltrán Leyva brothers, he proved to be a "skilled hitman, capable of daring, cunning and bravado." When the leader

Arturo Beltrán Leyva Marcos Arturo Beltrán Leyva (September 27, 1961 – December 16, 2009) was a Mexican drug lord who, alongside his brothers, founded and led the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel. Prior to founding his own organization, Beltran-Leyva was a longtime high-ra ...

was gunned down and killed by the Mexican military in December 2009, many within the cartel deserted and left to form an independent criminal organization with Edgar Valdez Villarreal, known as ''La Barbie''. Meza Flores, however, remained loyal to the Beltrán Leyva brothers and possibly forged an alliance with Vicente Carrillo Fuentes.

Tubutama, Sonora shooting

A fierce gunfight between members of the

Sinaloa Cartel The Sinaloa Cartel ( es, link=no, Cártel de Sinaloa), also known as the CDS, the Guzmán-Loera Organization, the Pacific Cartel, the Federation and the Blood Alliance, is a large, international organized crime syndicate that specializes in ill ...

(with the backing of

Gente Nueva Gente Nueva (English: ''New People''), also known as Los Chapos, in reference to their drug lord Joaquín Guzmán Loera, is a large group of well-trained and experienced gunmen that function as one of the elite armed wings of the Sinaloa Cartel, ...

) and the

(with the support of

Los Zetas Los Zetas (, Spanish for "The Zs") is a Mexican criminal syndicate, regarded as one of the most dangerous of Mexico's drug cartels. They are known for engaging in brutally violent "shock and awe" tactics such as beheadings, torture, and indisc ...

and

Meza Flores' men) left about 30 dead in the town of Tubutama, Sonora in northern Mexico on July 1, 2010. The drug gangs clashed just a few miles across the international border with the U.S. state of Arizona – an area notorious for being a smuggling route for narcotics and human trafficking. Reportedly, Meza Flores and a drug trafficker called Arnoldo del Cid Buelna (known in the criminal world as ''El Gilo'') were the ones that carried out the surprise ambush attack on the gunmen of the Sinaloa Cartel. Eleven late-model, bullet-ridden vehicles were found at the scene, along with dozens of assault rifles. Some of the vehicles had "X" painted on their windows, a method often used by the Mexican drug trafficking organizations to distinguish their vehicles from those of rival drug cartels during armed confrontations.

Los Mazatlecos era

His gang,

, is based in the region of

Guasave Guasave () is a city and the seat of the homonymous municipality in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. It is located in the northwestern part of Mexico, southeast of the city of Los Mochis. It stands at . In the 2010 census, the city reported a popu ...

Los Mochis Los Mochis () is a coastal city in northern Sinaloa, Mexico. It serves as the municipal seat of the municipality of Ahome. As of the 2010 census, the population was 362,613, which was 61 percent of the municipality's population. Los Mochis is the ...

, Mazatlan in

Sinaloa Sinaloa (), officially the Estado Libre y Soberano de Sinaloa ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sinaloa), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities and ...

and

Nayarit Nayarit (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nayarit ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Nayarit), is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 20 municipalities and its ...

and is responsible for smuggling large quantities of methamphetamine, heroin, marijuana, and cocaine since 2000. He is one of the principal leaders of the

in the city of

Mazatlán Mazatlán () is a city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. The city serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding ''municipio'', known as the Mazatlán Municipality. It is located at on the Pacific coast, across from the southernmost tip of t ...

and in the mountainous areas of Sinaloa state. Since 2010, he is one of the leading rivals of the

; the fight between the two drug trafficking groups has generated a wave of kidnappings and executions in Sinaloa. Meza Flores was the right-hand man of

Héctor Beltrán Leyva Héctor Manuel Beltrán Leyva (15 February 1962 – 18 November 2018) was a Mexican drug lord and leader of the Beltrán Leyva Cartel, a drug-trafficking organization. He was the brother of Arturo Beltrán Leyva (deceased), former leader of ...

(now deceased) the top leader of the Beltrán Leyva Cartel; his area of operations is in Mazatlán, Guamúchil, Los Mochis, Choix and Los Cabos. On April 28, 2010, Meza Flores was nearly captured by Mexican law enforcement in the mountains of Choix, Sinaloa. However, the operation left two soldiers dead and twelve of his gunmen killed, including his right-hand man Omar Alfonso Rubio (alias "El Chonte"). On December 12, 2013, one of Meza Flores's top lieutenants, Ignacio "Nacho" González was arrested in Guasave, Sinaloa by the Mexican Army.

Status

Meza Flores is a fugitive wanted by the United States government on drug trafficking charges. The FBI is offering a US$5 million bounty. His last known residence was in the state of

Nuevo León Nuevo León () is a state in the northeast region of Mexico. The state was named after the New Kingdom of León, an administrative territory from the Viceroyalty of New Spain, itself was named after the historic Spanish Kingdom of León. With a ...

, where he was reportedly seen with some of his family members at a youth basketball game in

San Pedro Garza García San Pedro Garza García ''(''also known as San Pedro or Garza García'')'' is a city-municipality of the Mexican state of Nuevo León and part of the Monterrey Metropolitan area. It is a contemporary commercial suburb of the larger metropolitan ...

on January 19, 2013.

Kingpin Act sanction

The

Office of Foreign Assets Control The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is a financial intelligence and enforcement agency of the U.S. Treasury Department. It administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions in support of U.S. national security and foreign policy ob ...

(OFAC) of the United States Department of the Treasury announced on January 17, 2013 that they froze the assets of Meza Flores, seven of his family members, and three companies that had connection with his criminal organization through the

Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act The Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, better known as the Kingpin Act, is landmark federal legislation in the United States intended to address international narcotics trafficking by imposing United States sanctions on foreign persons ...

(sometimes referred to simply as the "Kingpin Act"). ;Businesses included in the sanction ;Family members of Meza Flores

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meza Flores, Fausto Isidro 1982 births Beltrán-Leyva Cartel traffickers Fugitives wanted by Mexico Fugitives wanted by the United States Fugitives wanted on organised crime charges Living people Mexican crime bosses Mexican drug traffickers People from Navojoa People from Sinaloa People of the Mexican Drug War People sanctioned under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act