Mica for cartelinsider.com
The fall of Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán, which took place in January 2016, left a void in the Sinaloa Cartel that was quickly filled by four of his descendants, now known as ‘ Los Chapitos’. It only took seven years for the sons of the former drug trafficker to rise to the top of the organization, which is why the United States is focusing its efforts on capturing them, their main partners, and also those who are part of their security group: ‘Los Ninis’. But what is the origin of the latter?
According to a report from the National Defense Secretariat (SEDENA), leaked by Guacamaya Leaks, the beginning of ‘Los Ninis’ dates back to 2016. The document states that the Armed Forces became aware of the creation of the armed group in November of that year, two months after they carried out their first known operation.
And the chronological timeline points out that ‘Los Ninis’ were responsible for the ambush of a military convoy that occurred on September 30th, 2016 in Culiacán, Sinaloa.
The attack on the military, supposedly carried out by the newly formed security group of the Guzmán Salazar and Guzmán López families, occurred while they were transporting a man who had been injured in a confrontation in Badiraguato, birthplace of ‘El Chapo’. The man being transported, Julio Ortiz Vega, also known as ‘El Kevin’, was a member of the Sinaloa Cartel.
That day, armed men aboard eight trucks intercepted the military and attacked them with Barrett rifles and grenades. The result was six Army members dead and a dozen injured individuals.
Days later, General Alfonso Duarte Múgica, then regional commander, revealed at a press conference that initial reports indicated that the sons of the former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel were behind the events. ‘The Ninis’ had been born.
Some versions mention that ‘Los Chapitos’ decided to create a new armed group that would provide them with security after the capture of Jorge Ivan Gastelum, alias ‘El Cholo’, who acted as the right-hand man of ‘El Chapo’ and looked after him.
The Sedena states that ‘Los Ninis’ is made up of young assassins between the ages of 20 and 35, who receive training to ensure the protection of Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar, ‘El Chapito’, primarily.
On the other hand, the US Department of Justice describes them as “a violent group in charge of providing security for ‘Los Chapitos’,” who are also responsible for torturing and killing those who oppose the operations of the Sinaloa Cartel.
The sons of ‘El Chapo’ would also support by monitoring laboratories of synthetic drugs.
The main members of this group, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), are Néstor Isidro Pérez Salas, ‘El Nini’, arrested on November 22, 2023; Oscar Noe Medina González, also known as ‘El Panu’; and Jorge Humberto Figueroa Benítez, ‘El 27’.
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Mica
Email: mica@cartelinsider.com
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