Jaime González Durán (a.k.a. ''El Hummer'', born 8 October 1971) is a Mexican former drug lord who was one of the 14 original founding members and third-in-command of the criminal organization known as Los Zetas. A former

Mexican Army The Mexican Army () is the combined Army, land and Air Force, 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 Defense o ...

elite soldier of the Grupo Aeromóvil de Fuerzas Especiales (GAFE), he was trained in

counter-insurgency Counterinsurgency (COIN, or NATO spelling counter-insurgency) is "the totality of actions aimed at defeating irregular forces". The Oxford English Dictionary defines counterinsurgency as any "military or political action taken against the ac ...

and locating and apprehending

drug cartel A drug cartel is a criminal organization composed of independent drug lords who collude with each other in order to improve their profits and dominate the illegal drug trade. Drug cartels form with the purpose of controlling the supply of the i ...

members. At the age of 20, he joined the Armed Forces, on 15 November 1991, being accepted into the Army and Air Force with the military registration B-8987689 processed in Salinas Victoria, Nuevo León. He received specialized training by US forces and the Israeli Defense Force, integrating the Special Forces Airborne Group (GAFE), with the specialty of location, combat and apprehension of members of drug trafficking groups, but at seven years, four months and nine days of service defected as a specialized soldier, on 24 February 1999. After Osiel's arrest, González controlled a large-scale illegal drug distribution and transfer to the United States, mostly of

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

and

marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

. He also controlled much of the

illegal drug trade The illegal drug trade, drug trafficking, or narcotrafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of drug prohibition, prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibitionism, prohibit trade, exce ...

in the Mexican states of

Nuevo León Nuevo León, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León, is a Administrative divisions of Mexico, state in northeastern Mexico. The state borders the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Zacatecas, and San Luis Potosí, San Luis ...

Michoacán Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo, is one of the 31 states which, together with Mexico City, compose the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The stat ...

, Hidalgo,

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

Tabasco Tabasco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tabasco, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Tabasco, 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa. It i ...

Quintana Roo Quintana Roo, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Quintana Roo, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, constitute the 32 administrative divisions of Mexico, federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into municipalities of ...

and

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

. The Attorney General has cataloged him as one of the most dangerous and violent of organized crime members, and one of the most wanted by Mexican and U.S. justice. González Durán is believed to have been responsible for the murder of narcocorridos singer

Valentín Elizalde Valentín Elizalde Valencia (; 1 February 1979 – 25 November 2006) was a regional Mexican singer. Nicknamed "El Gallo de Oro" (The Golden Rooster), he was known for his off-key style. His biggest hits included: "Vete Ya," "Ebrio de Amor", an ...

Arrest

González was arrested on 7 November 2008 and taken into custody by Mexican Federal Police agents in Reynosa, Tamaulipas. A vast

arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

of firearms and ammunition were confiscated with his arrest. The Mexican

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

filed charges against him for his probable responsibility of

organized crime Organized crime is a category of transnational organized crime, transnational, national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a f ...

and crimes against health. He was admitted in the maximum security federal prison Penal del Altiplano, in Almoloya de Juarez, Mexico State, where he was serving a sentence of 35 years. He was extradited from Mexico to the United States on Oct. 20, 2022.

Kingpin Act sanction

On 24 March 2010, the

United States Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the Treasury, national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States. It is one of 15 current United States federal executive departments, U.S. government departments. ...

sanctioned González Durán under the

Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act The Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, better known as the Kingpin Act, is landmark Federal government of the United States, federal legislation in the United States intended to address Illegal drug trade, international narcotics traffic ...

(sometimes referred to simply as the "Kingpin Act"), for his involvement in drug trafficking along with fifty-three 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.

References

Living people Mexican prisoners and detainees Los Zetas 1971 births People from San Luis Potosí People sanctioned under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act Founding members of Los Zetas {{crime-bio-stub

Arrest

Kingpin Act sanction

See also

References