Final moments of El Chapo's cartel strongman revealed in haunting audio
A high-ranking drug cartel leader crumbled and begged his squadron of 'sicarios' not to leave him behind as the Mexican Army zeroed in for an intense shootout.
Sinaloa Cartel security chief Jorge 'La Perris' Figueroa was killed inside a home that doubled as the criminal organization's drug stash house in Navolato, a city in the western state of Sinaloa, during an Army special unit raid last Friday.
Figueroa, who was wanted by the United States Department of Justice, implored the cartel's hitman, nicknamed '37,' to help him escape, according to a leaked conversation obtained by Mexican journalist José Luis Montenegro.
'My buddy, my buddy, 37,' Figueroa calmly said in Spanish through a two-way radio.
'Go ahead, go ahead, listen, give me the exact location so I can hit you there with the gang,' the hitman replied.
A frightened Figueroa could then be heard saying, 'Don't leave me alone, dude.'
The cartel henchman then assured his boss that they were not going to leave him behind.
Figueroa seemed to grow tired and worried that he would be captured as he waited for his squadron of killers to rescue him.
A Mexican soldier was captured on video firing towards a target during the raid of a home where they killed two Sinaloa Cartel members, including Jorge Figueroa, who was in charge of providing security for the two sons of Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán
'37, I'm f****** around the corner,' said Figueroa, referencing the cartel's hideout.
'What are you scared of or something, damn it? If those f****** soldiers are f****** already here, damn it.'
'Come on, man, come closer, man, are you not that tough, come on,' Figueroa said before the audio cuts off.
The soldiers eventually got to Figueroa, whose body was seen in pictures lying on a bed next to an assault rifle.
Mexico's public safety secretary Omar García Harfuch broke news of Figueroa's death on X on Friday and said that the Army was on the scene to arrest Figueroa before they were met with gunfire.
García Harfuch said Figueroa was 'one of the main generators of violence' in the state of Sinaloa.
Ovidio Guzmán and his brothers took over the Sinaloa Cartel operations after their father, Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán was extradited to the United States, where he is serving a life sentence
Figueroa was responsible for overseeing the security of Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán's two sons, Iván Guzmán and Jesús Guzmán, who operate the Sinaloa Cartel faction known as 'Los Chapitos.'
García Harfuch said Figueroa led the cartel's war-like response against the military and police following the arrest of El Chapo's son, Ovidio Guzmán, at his home in the Sinaloa town of Culiacán in October 2019.
The daylight assault left 13 people dead before then-President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador greenlighted Ovidio's release despite an extradition request from the United States.
Figueroa was wanted by the United States government, which was offering a $1 million reward for information leading to his arrest and/or conviction.
According to the Department of Justice, Figueroa was allegedly in charge of setting up the security details for 'Los Chapitos,' a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel led by El Chapo's fugitive sons, Ivan Guzmán and Jesús Guzmán.
Figueroa shared cartel security duties with Nestor 'El Nini' Pérez, who was arrested and extradited to the U.S. on May 25, 2024. He also oversaw El Nini's security and was in charge of coordinating his fentanyl business.
Figueroa and other Sinaloa Cartel members were indicted by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of New York in April 2023.
Montenegro revealed that the Mexican Army learned of Figueroa's whereabouts after the Sinaloa Cartel's 'La Mayiza' faction, which is led by Ismael 'Mayito Flaco' Zambada, whose father Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada cofounded the organization with El Chapo, shared the location.
Figueroa, Montenegro claimed, had been in the process of turning himself after conversation with Mexico and United States officials.
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