Mica for cartelinsider.com
The most powerful criminal organizations in Mexico, such as the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), have suffered significant blows in recent months as a result of the capture of several of their members. One of the most recent was that of Hugo Enrique Cruz Hernández, identified as ‘El Barbas’, a suspected high-level operator and liaison for various Mexican drug cartels and foreign criminal groups.
According to the first reports, the arrest of ‘El Barbas’ took place last Sunday, February 18 in the Cuauhtémoc borough, Mexico City – specifically on Lafragua street, in the Tabacalera neighborhood.
On that day, personnel from the Attorney General’s Office of the Republic (FGR), with support from the Navy Secretariat (Semar), carried out a series of simultaneous raids in the capital of the country and three other states: State of Mexico, Chiapas and Nuevo León.
According to Milenio, initially federal sources indicated that the raids had taken place near the Benito Juárez municipality, but the report from authorities indicates that the arrest of ‘El Barbas’ occurred in its neighboring north, while the alleged criminal was inside an apartment on Reforma Avenue.
According to data from the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office in Organized Crime (FEMDO), the arrested individual was acting as an operator for the Sinaloa Cartel, Gulf Cartel, New Empire Cartel, and the Tepito Union. He allegedly carried out international liaison work for all of them, in order to transport narcotics.
On the other hand, information from Radio Fórmula indicates that in recent months he worked as an independent drug dealer, so the authorities began to track him.
It is also worth noting that during his time as an operator for the aforementioned criminal organizations, ‘El Barbas’ was cautious with each of his movements, as there is little information about him. According to Milenio, he is originally from Tamaulipas, although it is presumed that he currently resides in Sonora.
Likewise, there is an arrest warrant against him for organized crime with the intention of committing crimes against health, issued in Guanajuato in November 2023.
So far, neither the Attorney General’s Office nor the Navy has offered extended information about their detention, so it is unknown which agency they were made available to.
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Mica
Email: mica@cartelinsider.com
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