Notorious cartel leader with $1 million U.S. bounty on his head killed in Mexico
A leader of a notorious Mexican drug cartel who had a bounty on his head in the United States has died in a clash with army troops, authorities said Saturday.
Sinaloa state, where the powerful cartel of the same name is based, is enduring a war between two rival factions that has left some 1,200 people dead since September.
Jorge Humberto Figueroa — who went by the nickname "El Perris" — was shot and killed Friday in a raid carried out to arrest him, public safety secretary Omar Garcia Harfuch wrote on social media.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) had been offering up to $1 million for information leading to his arrest on suspicion of fentanyl trafficking and money laundering.
Figueroa was one of the masterminds of an infamous clash with the authorities in 2019 in the city of Culiacan, Harfuch said.
Jorge Humberto Figueroa
DEA
In that case, cartel members fought security forces who had arrested Ovidio Guzman, a son of Sinaloa cartel co-founder Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.
Mexican authorities controversially released Ovidio Guzman at the time, saying they wanted to avoid further bloodshed. But he ultimately was re-arrested in 2023 and extradited to the United States, where he remains in custody.
Earlier this month, Harfuch confirmed that 17 family members of cartel leaders crossed into the U.S. recently as part of a deal between Ovidio Guzman and the Trump administration. El Chapo's ex-wife, Griselda Lopez Perez, and her daughter were among the family members to enter the U.S., local media reported.
Mexican press reports said Figueroa belonged to a Sinaloa cartel faction run by the sons of the older Guzman, who is serving a life sentence in the United States.
This group has been fighting another faction led by heirs of cartel co-founder Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, who was lured to the United States in a sting operation in 2024 and arrested.
The newspaper Reforma said Figueroa was head of security for the faction led by Guzman's sons — known as the Chapitos. According to a 2023 indictment by the U.S. Justice Department, the Chapitos and their cartel associates used corkscrews, electrocution and hot chiles to torture their rivals while some of their victims were "fed dead or alive to tigers."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
$4 million drug bust turns heads on I-70
GEARY COUNTY, Kan. (KSNW) — What started as a routine traffic stop on Interstate 70 turned into one of the biggest drug busts Geary County has seen in years. During a two-day enforcement blitz on June 1 and 2, law enforcement agencies from across the region joined forces to target criminal activity along the busy interstate. And on the evening of June 2, that collaboration paid off in a big way, officials say. Kansas Firefighters Museum statue hit, damaged by car A commercial truck was pulled over near mile marker 302 for minor traffic violations. But something didn't sit right with deputies, so they called in a K9 unit. The result? A jaw-dropping discovery: over 3,200 pounds of marijuana and 260 pounds of cocaine, hidden inside the trailer. The estimated street value? A staggering $4 million. 'This operation shows what's possible when agencies work together,' Geary County Sheriff Nate Boeckman said in a statement. The DEA is now assisting with the investigation. Two suspects from California were taken into custody and are each being held on a $500,000 bond. KSN does not name individuals believed to be connected to a crime unless formal charges have been filed. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CNN
8 hours ago
- CNN
Video of man carrying suspicious bundle after his employee's death fuels femicide outrage in Mexico
Mexican prosecutors are investigating a widely shared surveillance video of the former boss of murdered woman carrying a suspicious bundle up a flight of stairs. Lorena Jacqueline Morales, who lived in the city of León in the central state of Guanajuato and worked at a food store, was reported missing by her family on May 23, according to authorities. The 28-year-old's body was found on Tuesday, June 3, inside a suitcase, according to prosecutors. Her murder has shocked the country and has underscored violence against women in Mexico. Prosecutors arrested the alleged perpetrator, her former boss, that same day. On Thursday, a spokesperson for the Guanajuato Prosecutor's Office told CNN that a viral video was part of the investigation into Morales' murder. They did not provide further details. The surveillance video showed Morales' former boss going into an apartment building and climbing a flight of stairs with a covered-up object. Later, the man is seen next to a car struggling to load a heavy suitcase into the trunk. The timestamp in the upper left corner of the video suggests it was filmed on May 22. It's unclear what happened before and after the footage was recorded. CNN is working to determine the suspect's legal status and his response to the allegations against him. Guanajuato Gov. Libia Dennise García Muñoz said the case should be investigated as a femicide. Mexico has long struggled with high levels of both homicide and violence against women. While not all homicides involving women are femicides, many are. In 2020, a quarter of female killings in Mexico were investigated as femicides, with cases reported in each one of Mexico's 32 states, according to Amnesty International. Last year, there were 847 reported cases of femicide nationwide – and 162 in the first three months of this year, according to Mexican government figures.
CNN
8 hours ago
- CNN
Video of man carrying suspicious bundle after his employee's death fuels femicide outrage in Mexico
Mexican prosecutors are investigating a widely shared surveillance video of the former boss of murdered woman carrying a suspicious bundle up a flight of stairs. Lorena Jacqueline Morales, who lived in the city of León in the central state of Guanajuato and worked at a food store, was reported missing by her family on May 23, according to authorities. The 28-year-old's body was found on Tuesday, June 3, inside a suitcase, according to prosecutors. Her murder has shocked the country and has underscored violence against women in Mexico. Prosecutors arrested the alleged perpetrator, her former boss, that same day. On Thursday, a spokesperson for the Guanajuato Prosecutor's Office told CNN that a viral video was part of the investigation into Morales' murder. They did not provide further details. The surveillance video showed Morales' former boss going into an apartment building and climbing a flight of stairs with a covered-up object. Later, the man is seen next to a car struggling to load a heavy suitcase into the trunk. The timestamp in the upper left corner of the video suggests it was filmed on May 22. It's unclear what happened before and after the footage was recorded. CNN is working to determine the suspect's legal status and his response to the allegations against him. Guanajuato Gov. Libia Dennise García Muñoz said the case should be investigated as a femicide. Mexico has long struggled with high levels of both homicide and violence against women. While not all homicides involving women are femicides, many are. In 2020, a quarter of female killings in Mexico were investigated as femicides, with cases reported in each one of Mexico's 32 states, according to Amnesty International. Last year, there were 847 reported cases of femicide nationwide – and 162 in the first three months of this year, according to Mexican government figures.
