Cartel member who oversaw security for El Chapo's sons is killed in shootout with Mexican military
Jorge 'El Perris' Figueroa was shot dead Friday during a raid at a home in Novolato, a city in the western state of Sinaloa, public safety secretary Omar Garcia Harfuch revealed in an X post.
Garcia Harfuch said that a unit of Army soldiers were on the scene to arrest Figueroa when they were greeted with gunfire.
Video footage recorded by residents showed military helicopters flying over the area and a soldier lying on the ground and firing at a target.
A photo leaked on social media showed Figueroa's lifeless body covered in blood and lying on top of a bed in his home.
A member of Figueroa's team, José 'El Chema' Pérez, was also killed the shootout.
Renown crime journalist Carlos Jímenez reported that Pérez had been removed from the Mexico City police after he was photographed in January 2021 meeting with Vicente Rodríguez, who at the time was one of the capital's most wanted drug traffickers.
Figueroa was described as 'one of the main generators of violence' in the state of Sinaloa was accused of leading the cartel's war-like response in the Sinaloa town of Culiacán against the military and police following the arrest of El Chapo's son, Ovidio Guzmán, 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 - and also oversaw his security and was in charge of coordinating Pérez's 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.
They were charged with conspiracy to import and traffic fentanyl, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, continuing criminal enterprise and money laundering.
Figueroa's death comes three weeks after Ovidio's mother and El Chapo's former wife, his sister and brother-in-law and 14 other family members allegedly presented themselves to federal agents at the San Ysidro Port of Entry.
The meeting took place three days after Ovidio entered a change of plea in an Illinois federal court.
Video footage showed multiple adults and children holding their luggage as they allegedly met with the FBI - which would be the latest sign that the jailed notorious drug lord's son has flipped on the transnational drug trafficking organization.
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