Rigoberto Gaxiola: El Chapo’s Operator who Laundered Money Through Mining Companies in Sinaloa

The financial operations of criminal organisations identified by Mexican and US authorities have made one thing clear: no sector is immune to infiltration by organised crime.

Fifteen minutes apart, and amid public outcry, the Sinaloa Public Security Secretariat announced on February 3 the arrest of four individuals responsible for instigating violence in two separate operations with a single objective: locating 10 workers from the Vizsla Silver Corp. mining company who had been reported missing at least a week earlier.

Although these arrests represented progress in the investigations, time ran out for the authorities. Three days later, the bodies of ten people were found in a clandestine grave in the town of El Verde, in the municipality of Concordia. Five of them were identified as the missing miners, according to the Attorney General’s Office (FGR).

While the identification of the remaining bodies is still underway, the outrage sparked by the case prompted the head of the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC), Omar García Harfuch, to address the situation and provide details about those arrested:

“As we know, the fight between them is between the Chapos and the Mayos. So, these individuals, these detainees, are from the Chapitos cell […] These are the initial statements; we will have more information and, of course, we will have more arrests in this regard,” the security secretary stated during his appearance at the “Mañanera de Pueblo,” the daily morning press conference led by Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum.

Omar García Harfuch elaborated that, according to the testimonies of those arrested, the miners were mistaken for members of the rival group, that is, the faction led by Ismael Zambada Sicairos, alias “El Mayito Flaco.”

The official specified that the investigations are ongoing; however, it is impossible to separate the victims from their work, given that for decades, the gold and silver mines in the southern part of the state have become areas of interest for the Sinaloa Cartel. In their quest to control the mines, the cartel has not only infiltrated the sector but has also unleashed numerous episodes of violence.

The Sinaloa Cartel’s interest in the mines

Senator Verónica Martínez lamented the company’s closure and said she will meet with the Undersecretary of Mining.

The date was April 8, 2015. On that day, a heavily armed group arrived in the highlands of Mocorito, Sinaloa, and carried out an ambitious mission: the theft of 7,000 ounces of gold, valued at approximately $8.4 million, from the El Gallo 1 mine.

Reports from that time indicate that the mine was operated by the Canadian company McEven Mining, whose owner, Rob McEwen, expressed his dismay at the robbery, telling The Wall Street Journal that they were aware of the cartels’ activity in the region and that they had good relations with them.

Although the mining businessman later retracted his statement, this incident, along with a series of murders that occurred months later, exposed what, until then, had been an open secret: the infiltration of the Sinaloa Cartel into the state’s mining sector.

According to information published by the local newspaper Noroeste, this factor reflects a diversification of the criminal activities of cartels in Mexico. Beyond drug trafficking, controlling natural resources allows them to maximize their profits through extortion and infiltrate the country’s legal economy through money laundering.

In this regard, the Sinaloa Cartel’s influence in the state’s mines hasn’t been limited to collecting fees. Some of its members have even appeared as concession holders and participated directly in the operation and security of the mines.

This situation materialized in the case of the mine known as Nuestra Señora del Rosario, which, at least until 2015, was operated by the Fitch family. Between December 2014 and November of that year, Óscar Fitch Tovar and his four sons—Jorge, Heraclio, Eduardo, and Raymundo Fitch Valenzuela—were murdered in Pánuco, Concordia.

His connection to the mining sector quickly became prominent in the investigations that led to the murders; however, alarm bells rang after it was revealed that the Fitch surname was on the U.S. Treasury Department’s blacklist.

Since August 2008, Óscar’s brother, identified as Fernando Fitch Tovar, has been sanctioned by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) after being identified as an associate of Rigoberto Gaxiola Medina, one of the high-ranking operators for Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, leader and co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel.

Tunnels and mining: Rigoberto Gaxiola’s criminal history

Joaquín Guzmán Loera’s operator

The cunning that El Chapo Guzmán demonstrated in smuggling drug shipments into the United States through underground tunnels earned him another of his aliases: The Lord of the Tunnels. This method contributed to the Sinaloa Cartel co-founder becoming a priority target for both U.S. authorities and the Mexican Attorney General’s Office (PGR), who in 2013 launched “Operation Mole II.”

It was during this operation that federal authorities managed to dismantle a “drug tunnel” connecting the border city of Nogales in Sonora with Arizona. Measuring 300 meters long, 2 meters in diameter, and equipped with rails and trolleys, this passageway was used for drug trafficking by the criminal organization.

“Rigoberto Gaxiola Medina, alias Rigo, was in charge of operating the tunnel used for trafficking marijuana and cocaine, as well as managing the proceeds of illicit activities,” federal authorities stated regarding the arrest of El Chapo’s associate, reported on September 10, 2003.

Five years after his arrest, the Treasury Department detailed the operational importance of Rigo to the Sinaloa Cartel, both for drug trafficking and, especially, for money laundering for the criminal organization.

The fact…

Mining as a key to money laundering

The interest of criminal groups in mining for money laundering lies in the handling of valuable assets within the sector, as it facilitates the investment of large sums of money in assets that can justify their origin.

In addition to heading an organization responsible for the construction and operation of a network of underground tunnels to move drugs and cash between Mexico and the United States, Rigoberto Gaxiola Medina was linked to 14 companies connected to the laundering of assets for the Sinaloa Cartel through various sectors such as real estate, transportation and, of course, mining.

“The financial network targeted by today’s action comprises companies in the Mexican states of Sonora, Sinaloa, and Jalisco, including: four mining companies—Minera Río Presidio, S.A. de C.V., Minera La Castellana y Anexas, S.A. de C.V., Copa de Plata, S.A. de C.V., and Compañía Minera Del Río Cianury, S.A. de C.V.; a car dealership, Distribuidora Gran Auto, S.A. de C.V.; and a private gym, Bioesport, S.A. de C.V.,” the Treasury Department reported.

The U.S. agency noted that, despite his arrest in 2003, El Rigo’s money laundering network continued operating through his associates, including family members such as his wife, María Del Rosario García Durán, and his children: Rigoberto, Carlos, and María Elena Gaxiola García.

In total, 17 other individuals were sanctioned alongside El Chapo’s associate by OFAC, including mining businessman José Manuel Fitch Tovar, who is identified as a key business partner in El Rigo’s money laundering network.

The struggle for control of the mines

On the other hand, they hope the USMCA will continue, as it has boosted trilateral trade, with a 50 percent increase.

For two decades, El Rigo’s story has exemplified the Sinaloa Cartel’s infiltration of the state’s mining sector; however, years later, various violent episodes have also demonstrated the interest that some factions of the criminal organization have in controlling the deposits.

According to a journalistic investigation by Noroeste, violence in mining areas of Sinaloa has surged during periods of internal division within the criminal organization. For example, even though the Sierra Madre Occidental became a battleground for the Sinaloa Cartel and the Beltrán Leyva Cartel in 2008, mining operations continued and maximized profits.

A similar situation arose in 2017 when, following the arrest and extradition of Joaquín Guzmán Loera, his sons and the Dámaso family became embroiled in a bloody dispute that unleashed days of violence for control of territories, including those rich in mineral deposits like Concordia.

In this sense, the violence against miners is presented as yet another symptom of the dispute that criminal groups have, since they not only fight for control of the criminal organization, but also for all those economies and activities that maintain their finances and guarantee their survival.

Source: Milenio