Los Pelones ("The Bald Ones") is an enforcer gang originally part of the Mexican drug trafficking organization known as 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 il ...
, headed by the drug lord
Joaquín ''El Chapo'' Guzmán, Mexico's most-wanted man.
Etymology
Los Pelones literally means "The Bald Ones" in Spanish language; it symbolizes the "new soldiers" of the gang who shave their heads like military recruits.
History
The gang originated in 2004 in the state of
Guerrero
Guerrero is one of the 32 states that comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo and its largest city is Acapulcocopied from article, GuerreroAs of 2020, Guerrero the pop ...
, where it distributed narcotics throughout several touristic spots in the state.
[
]
Beltrán-Leyva split and the Gulf Cartel alliance
After the death of Arturo Beltrán Leyva they went independent. On December 27, 2012, the group announced that they had stopped operating independently and that now they are part of the "honorable" Gulf Cartel. In June 2020, it was reported that Los Pelones was now an independent cartel due to the fragmentation of the Gulf Cartel.
See also
* Mexican drug war
* Los Negros
Los Negros ('The Black Ones') was a criminal organization that was once the armed wing of the Sinaloa Cartel and after a switch of alliances, became the armed wing of the Sinaloa splinter gang, the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel. In 2010 it went indepe ...
* Beltrán-Leyva Cartel
References
Organizations established in 2004
2004 establishments in Mexico
Gangs in Mexico
Paramilitary organizations based in Mexico
Beltrán-Leyva Cartel
Gulf Cartel
Sinaloa Cartel
Mexican drug war
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