The old man: Mexico arrests 'El Viejon,' reputed Sinaloa cartel boss for Valley of Juárez
He was called "El Viejon" — the old man — and was reputed to be the Sinaloa drug cartel's regional leader in the Valley of Juárez.
Border drug cartels: El Paso CBP officer arrested for human smuggling was allegedly in Mexican drug cartel
Humberto Rivera, 51, who Mexican authorities described as a priority target of the FBI, was flown out of the Juárez airport on Sunday to await extradition proceedings in Mexico City following his arrest in a multi-agency operation last week, a Chihuahua state police official said on Monday, Feb. 17.
Rivera is accused of being among the top leaders for more than a decade of the regional Sinaloa cartel faction operating in the Valley of Juárez border smuggling corridor, southeast of Juárez across from the Fabens and Fort Hancock area.
The valley is where U.S. Border Patrol agents on the Texas side of the Rio Grande and Mexican troops in Mexico came under fire by gunmen along the border last month.
The arrest of Rivera was the result of an operation including Mexico's National Guard, Chihuahua state police, the Mexican military and federal agents, Luis Aguirre, chief of staff for the Chihuahua state police, said on Monday, Feb. 17, at the state police's weekly news conference in Chihuahua City.
A multi-agency investigation obtained intelligence linking Rivera to some residences that were placed under ground and aerial surveillance by state police in an effort to find Rivera, Aguirre said.
In an arrest operation headed by the National Guard, Rivera was taken into custody after he was pulled over for speeding in a recent-model Ford Territory SUV on Thursday, Feb. 13, in the area of Valle de Juárez avenue and Fray Junipero Serra street near the well-known San Lorenzo Catholic Church in Juárez, officials said.
At the time of his arrest, Rivera was allegedly in possession of several identification credentials under the name "Victor Cruz" as well as two small baggies of cocaine, the Chihuahua Attorney General's Office said.
State police backed by the military transported Rivera to the Mexico's federal Attorney General's Office building in Juárez. On Sunday, state police detectives escorted Rivera to the Juárez airport where he was boarded onto a small passenger jet and taken by Mexican federal agents to Mexico City, Aguirre said.
The federal security authorities described Rivera as an organized crime leader. He faces extradition to the United States.
The gray-haired Rivera — also known as "El Chato" and "El Don" — more than a decade ago had allegedly been the right arm of "El Ingeniero" (the engineer) Gabino Salas Valenciano, the reputed Sinaloa cartel "plaza boss" in the Valley of Juárez who was killed in a shootout with police forces in 2013.
More: Mexican military troops inspect US-bound vehicles in Juárez to curb border smuggling
"El Ingeniero" Salas was part of the Gente Nueva (new people) faction of the Sinaloa cartel in Chihuahua state and one of the most-notorious figures of drug cartel war that engulfed the Juárez region more than a decade ago.
Salas had been described as a lieutenant in the Sinaloa cartel.
Daniel Borunda may be reached at dborunda@elpasotimes.com and @BorundaDaniel on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Sinaloa cartel leader arrested in Juárez taken to Mexico City
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