Héctor Manuel Beltrán Leyva
/ref> (15 February 1962 – 18 November 2018) was a Mexican

drug lord A drug lord, drug baron, kingpin or narcotrafficker is a high-ranking crime boss who controls a sizable network of people involved in the illegal drug trade. Such figures are often difficult to bring to justice, as they are normally not directly ...

and 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 was the brother of Arturo Beltrán Leyva (deceased), former leader of the cartel. Héctor was the second-in-command and rose to the leadership of the criminal organization after his brother's death on 16 December 2009 during a confrontation with

Mexican marines The Naval Infantry Corps ( es, Cuerpo de Infantería de Marina) are the naval infantry and amphibious infantry force of the Mexican Navy. The main task of the ''Infantería de Marina'' is to guarantee the maritime security of the country's port ...

Career

Although originally a part 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 il ...

, the four Beltrán Leyva brothers broke ties with the organization in 2008 after Alfredo Beltrán Leyva was arrested by Mexican military special forces, and the Beltrán Leyva brothers blamed their boss

Joaquín Guzmán Joaquín or Joaquin is a male given name, the Spanish version of Joachim. Given name * Joaquín (footballer, born 1956), Spanish football midfielder * Joaquín (footballer, born 1981), Spanish football winger * Joaquín (footballer, born 1982) ...

(a.k.a. ''El Chapo''). In response to the supposed betrayal, the Beltrán Leyva brothers ordered the murder of 22-year-old Édgar Guzmán López, a son of Joaquín Guzmán, who was killed in a shopping center parking lot by at least 15 gunmen using assault rifles and

grenade launchers A grenade launcher is a weapon that fires a specially-designed large-caliber projectile, often with an explosive, Smoke screen, smoke or tear gas, gas warhead. Today, the term generally refers to a class of dedicated firearms firing unitary grena ...

. The remaining four Beltrán Leyva brothers established the

and forged a collaboration pact with their former rivals: the Gulf Cartel and

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 indiscri ...

. Today, the Beltrán Leyva Cartel is responsible for the procurement of fire arms and ammunitions from the global black market in furtherance of their criminal enterprise and is responsible for the trafficking of multi-ton amounts of

illicit drugs The prohibition of drugs through sumptuary legislation or religious law is a common means of attempting to prevent the recreational use of certain intoxicating substances. While some drugs are illegal to possess, many governments regulate the ...

, including

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

, and

methamphetamine Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Methamph ...

. Héctor Beltrán Leyva is also credited with rising rates of violence within Mexico, as his organization is reportedly responsible for

kidnapping In criminal law, kidnapping is the unlawful confinement of a person against their will, often including transportation/asportation. The asportation and abduction element is typically but not necessarily conducted by means of force or fear: the p ...

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

, and various other acts of violence against numerous men, women, and children in Mexico. The cartel is considered one of the most ruthless and brutal in the way they dispose of their enemies. The organization is connected with the assassinations of numerous Mexican law enforcement officials, including

Édgar Eusebio Millán Gómez Édgar Eusebio Millán Gómez (1967 – 8 May 2008) was a third-ranking member of Mexico's Secretariat of Public Security and acting commissioner of the Federal Preventive Police. Born in Mexico City, he received a law degree from the Universi ...

, the former acting commissioner of the Mexican

Federal Preventive Police The Federal Police ( es, Policía Federal, PF), formerly known as the (Federal Preventive Police) and sometimes referred to in the U.S. as "Federales", was a Mexican national police force formed in 1999 and folded into the National Guard in 2019. ...

Bounty

The U.S. Department of State was offering a reward of

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

$5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Héctor Beltrán Leyva, while the Mexican government offered a US$2.1 million bounty reward.

Kingpin Act sanction

On 3 December 2009, the

United States Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and t ...

sanctioned Beltrán Leyva under 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 a ...

(sometimes referred to simply as the "Kingpin Act"), for his involvement in drug trafficking along with twenty-one other international criminals and ten foreign entities. The act prohibited U.S. citizens and companies from doing any kind of business activity with him, and virtually froze all his assets in the U.S.

Arrest

Beltrán Leyva was arrested by the

Mexican Army The Mexican Army ( es, Ejército Mexicano) is the combined land and air branch and is the largest part of the Mexican Armed Forces; it is also known as the National Defense Army. The Army is under the authority of the Secretariat of National De ...

on Wednesday, 1 October 2014. On 6 October 2014, he was transferred by federal agents to the

Federal Social Readaptation Center No. 1 The Federal Social Readaptation Center No. 1 "Altiplano" ( es, Centro Federal de Readaptación Social Número 1 "Altiplano") is the maximum security federal prison (originally called the ''Penal de Máxima Seguridad No. 1 "Almoloya de Juárez",'' ...

(commonly referred to simply as "Altiplano"), a maximum-security prison in Almoloya de Juárez, State of Mexico. He was accused of violating Mexico's

Federal Law of Firearms and Explosives Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

. The next day, he was formally charged in a federal court for drug trafficking, money laundering, and organized crime offenses.

Death

On 18 November 2018, Beltrán Leyva began having chest pains. A prison guard reported this to medical personnel, who tried to give him first aid attention in his prison cell. As his symptoms worsened, he was transported to the Adolfo López Mateos Medical Center in

Toluca, State of Mexico Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. With a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census, Toluca is the fifth most populous city in Mexico. The city fo ...

. According to the medics, he died of a heart attack in the emergency room. Upon his death, the hospital notified authorities and stated they would conduct an autopsy, as required by Mexican law. His family was notified of the death and they claimed the body. The hospital's emergency area was safeguarded by security forces while Beltrán Leyva was receiving medical attention.

References