Pablo Acosta Villarreal, commonly referred to as El Zorro de Ojinaga ("The Ojinaga Fox") was a

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

narcotics smuggler who controlled crime along a 200-mile stretch of U.S.-Mexico border. At the height of his power, he was smuggling 60 tons of

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

per year for the Colombians—in addition to the incalculable amounts of

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

and

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...

that were the mainstay of his business. He was the mentor and business partner of

Amado Carrillo Fuentes Amado Carrillo Fuentes (; December 17, 1956 – July 7, 1997) was a Mexican drug lord who seized control of the Juárez Cartel after assassinating his boss Rafael Aguilar Guajardo. Amado Carrillo became known as "''El Señor de Los Cielos''" ( ...

, the "Lord of the Skies", who took over after Acosta's death.Book review: ''El Cartel de Juarez'', by Francisco Cruz
He made his operation base in the once little dusty border town of Ojinaga,

Chihuahua Chihuahua may refer to: Places *Chihuahua (state), a Mexican state **Chihuahua (dog), a breed of dog named after the state **Chihuahua cheese, a type of cheese originating in the state **Chihuahua City, the capital city of the state **Chihuahua Mun ...

, Mexico, and had his greatest power in the period around 1984–1986. Through a protection scheme with Mexican federal and state police agencies and with the Mexican army, Acosta was able to ensure the security for five tons of cocaine being flown by turboprop aircraft every month from Colombia to Ojinaga — sometimes landing at the municipal airport, sometimes at dirt airstrips on ranches upriver from Ojinaga. Chains of luxurious restaurants and hotels laundered his drug money. While at first he managed only marijuana and heroin, Acosta Villarreal became increasingly involved in the cocaine trade near the end of his life. He established contacts with

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

ns who wanted to smuggle cocaine into the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

using the same routes to

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

Acosta Villarreal was using to ship marijuana and heroin from across the border in Chihuahua. Acosta Villarreal was killed in April 1987, as detailed in the documentary film ''American Federale'', during a cross-border raid into the Rio Grande village of Santa Elena, Chihuahua, by Mexican Federal Police helicopters, with assistance from the FBI.

Rafael Aguilar Guajardo Rafael Aguilar Guajardo (1950 – 12 April 1993) was a Mexican drug lord, federal police commander of the Direccion Federal de Seguridad (DFS) in Mexico, and one of the Juárez Cartel co-founders. He was the right-hand man to Pablo Acosta V ...

took Acosta's place but he was killed soon after by Amado Carrillo Fuentes, who took control of the organization. The book ''Drug Lord'' by investigative journalist Terrence Poppa, chronicles the rise and fall of Acosta Villarreal through direct interviews he did with the drug lord.

In popular culture

There is a popular rumor in Mexico that states that he was an informant for the US government on communism and guerrilla movements near the Mexico-US border. As narrated by the famous Mexican-folk (norteño) group Los Tigres del Norte, in the drug-ballad ( narco-corrido) called "El Zorro de Ojinaga", written by Paulino Vargas, that narrates some of the exploits of Acosta Villarreal. Pablo Acosta is alluded to in

Cormac McCarthy Cormac McCarthy (born Charles Joseph McCarthy Jr., July 20, 1933) is an American writer who has written twelve novels, two plays, five screenplays and three short stories, spanning the Western and post-apocalyptic genres. He is known for his gr ...

's novel No Country for Old Men. Acosta-Villarreal is portrayed in '' Narcos: Mexico'' by Gerardo Taracena.

References

External links

Book: ''Drug Lord, the Life and Death of a Mexican Kingpin''
by Terrence Poppa.
Movie: "American Federale"
by

Michael Douglas Carlin Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Acosta Villarreal, Pablo People from Chihuahua (state) Guadalajara Cartel traffickers Mexican drug traffickers Juárez Cartel traffickers 1987 deaths People shot dead by law enforcement officers in Mexico 1937 births