Mica for cartelinsider.com
At 63 years of age, the trajectory of Sandra Ávila Beltrán continues to stand out in the history of Mexican drug trafficking as one of the few women who managed to get involved in a business that, from its origins, has been dominated mainly by men. And it is that the also known as ‘Queen of the Pacific’ started her criminal activities alongside those who were the most powerful bosses at the time. But how did it happen?
Ávila Beltrán spent her childhood and adolescence in Tijuana, Baja California, where she enjoyed various comforts and privileges. However, being from a family of drug traffickers and being the niece of Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, founder of the Guadalajara Cartel, she also spent her early years surrounded by people who would later become leaders of criminal organizations.
Despite this, the ‘Queen of the Pacific’ has repeatedly denied any connection to them, as various journalistic and police reports claim.
“The government associates me with the drug lords, as if I were one of them. But I met them when they were just ordinary people,” she stated in an interview with journalist Julio Scherer García from the Santa Martha Acatitla prison, where she was taken after being arrested on September 28th, 2007 for cocaine trafficking.
In the same meeting with the founder of Proceso, Ávila Beltrán also provided a description of two of the most well-known drug traffickers in Mexico with whom he has been associated on multiple occasions: Rafael Caro Quintero and Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán.
When questioned about her relationship with the also known ‘Narco of Narco’, Ávila Beltrán avoided answering the question and preferred to share her opinion of him.
“I admired him for helping his people, he was noble and generous with his own. He was also a leader, protector of his family,” Scherer replied.
Years later, after regaining her freedom, the woman agreed to an interview with journalist José Luis Montenegro for his YouTube channel. In said encounter, she was also questioned about Caro Quintero, but once again, she gave a similar response.
“Rafael is another great person. A very humane person. He helped a lot in his village, with his people. Maybe for many people he is a bad person, but for many people in Sinaloa and Jalisco he is a beloved person. There are only good comments about him,” he said.
On that occasion, the ‘Queen of the Pacific’ admitted that the murder of Enrique ‘Kiki’ Camarena, an agent of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), was the only bad passage in Quintero’s life.
“But we really don’t know if he was. It has never been proven,” she added.
In 2007, the ‘Queen of the Pacific’ stated that her first encounter with Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán, former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, happened at a party. In that regard, she denied having a friendship with him.
“In the record, I am linked to ‘El Chapo’. I met him, but we were not friends or anything like that. I just saw him on that occasion and exchanged a few words with him. He is a character and I do not forget the encounter, but it was just that, an encounter,” he recounted.
As for the personality of the boss, he described him as a serious, observant man who hardly spoke.
“She has a serene face, and she is simple and kind. They told me that she had imagined me standing tall and with jewelry. I had many, but they were already confiscated from me. When I was able to wear some, there were only three or four,” she commented.
After seven years behind bars, Ávila Beltrán was released on February 7, 2015.
Thanks for reading!
Mica
Email: mica@cartelinsider.com
Follow: https://twitter.com/cartelinsider1
Discover more from Cartel Insider
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
