Sergio Enrique Villarreal Barragán, a.k.a. El Grande, (b. September 21, 1969), is a Mexican former federal police officer who then worked as a lieutenant for
Arturo Beltrán Leyva of the criminal organization called the
Beltrán Leyva Cartel. He got his name ''El Grande'' ("The Big One") because he is tall.
Biography
Villarreal Barragán was born in
Torreón, Coahuila on September 21, 1969. He began his criminal career as a car thief in the state of Coahuila, and in 1990 at age 20, he was admitted to the Coahuila Judicial Police force.
[ Several years later in 1993, he was admitted to the ]Federal Police
A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for law enforcement within a specific jurisdiction through the employment and deployment of law enforcement officers and their resources. The most common type of law enforcement ...
, which was led by the office National Security Commission and was stationed at Nuevo Laredo
Nuevo Laredo () is a city in the Municipality of Nuevo Laredo in the Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Tamaulipas. The city lies on the banks of the Rio Grande, across from Laredo, Texas, Laredo, United States. The 2010 census popula ...
. Villarreal Barragán was then stationed at Reynosa, Tamaulipas, where he worked until 1996, when he established a business relationship with the Juárez Cartel. Between the years 2007 and 2010, Villarreal Barragán left the Juárez organization to work along with the Gulf Cartel and for Los Zetas, but later incorporated into the Sinaloa Cartel, commanding a criminal cell of the Beltrán Leyva Cartel.
Beltrán Leyva Cartel
Allegedly, he was hired by the Beltrán Leyva Cartel and by 2007 he rose to the rank of lieutenant for Arturo Beltrán Leyva.[ Following Arturo's death in December 2009 during a shootout with Marines, infighting broke out for the control of the Beltrán Leyva Cartel. One faction is led by lieutenants Édgar Valdez Villarreal and Gerardo Alvarez-Vazquez, while the other is led by the current cartel leader Héctor Beltrán Leyva and his 'enforcer' lieutenant, Sergio Villarreal Barragán.
]
Kingpin Act sanction
On 1 June 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 Villarreal Barragán 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 four other international criminals. 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.
Bounty and arrest
On September 12, 2010, he was arrested in a raid by Mexican Marines in the central state of Puebla
Puebla, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Puebla, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its capital is Puebla City. Part of east-centr ...
. Villarreal has been charged with multiple murders and other crimes. The Mexican government had been offering a $30 million pesos (US$1.7 million) bounty for information leading to Villarreal's capture.
Villarreal Barragán was extradited
In an extradition, one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, into the custody of the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdic ...
to the United States on 23 May 2012, and may possibly serve as a "protected witness" for the DEA.
Personal life
Villarreal Barragán is married to Gabriela Benavides Tamez and has a brother named Adolfo Villarreal Barragán.
See also
* Mérida Initiative
The Mérida Initiative (named after Mérida, the city where it was agreed upon), also called Plan Mexico (in reference to Plan Colombia), was a security cooperation agreement among the United States, the government of Mexico, and the countries o ...
* Mexican Drug War
The Mexican drug war is an List of ongoing armed conflicts, ongoing Asymmetric warfare, asymmetric armed conflict between the Federal government of Mexico, Mexican government and various Drug cartel#Mexico, drug trafficking syndicates. When the ...
* List of Mexico's 37 most-wanted drug lords
References
External links
Mexico holds drug suspect Sergio 'El Grande' Villarreal
— BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Villarreal Barragan, Sergio
1969 births
Beltrán-Leyva Cartel traffickers
Mexican people imprisoned in the United States
Mexican police officers convicted of crimes
Living people
People extradited from Mexico to the United States
People from Torreón
People sanctioned under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act
Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government