Expendable Allegiances: Inside the Confessions of a Chapitos Enforcer

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In the unforgiving landscape of Mexico’s cartel warfare, loyalty can shift in an instant, and betrayal is often the final price. This interrogation transcript, divided into three parts, captures the final hours of Luis Alberto Madueña Gastélum, a young enforcer working for Los Chapitos, as he faces questioning from a sicario of Mayito Flaco’s faction. His confessions reveal the inner workings of Los Chapitos’ operations, exposing alliances, corrupt networks, and deadly rivalries. By morning, Madueña’s battered body was discarded on a remote road, and his loyalty to Los Chapitos was repaid with silence and abandonment. These transcripts shed light on the brutal reality of cartel life, where the only certainty is death. Translation provided by Cartel Insider’s Sol Prendido.

Part 1: Identity, Affiliations, and Capture

Sicario: What’s your name?

Captive: Luis Alberto Madueña Gastélum aka El Chimal.

Sicario: Who do you work for?

Captive: I work for Jose Vernaldo aka El Grande and Victor Felix.

Sicario: What position do you hold within your enterprise?

Captive: I’m a part of the security detail for the Immediate Reaction Group.

Sicario: How did we capture you?

Captive: We were on our way with the Navy to raid a safe house that belongs to the Mayo Zambada faction.

Sicario: Who are the principal financiers for this war?

Captive: That’ll be El Güerito, Víctor Felix, Panu, El 8 of Sonoyta, and El Europeo. On a side note, El Grande fucked El 8 de Sonoyta’s wife. So, he doesn’t really do much with us because of this affair. Nonetheless, we avoid him.

Sicario: Who is this individual known as El Europeo?

Captive: He’s a financier for Los Chapos. But he’s currently hiding from the Mexican government. He moves around between Europe, Tijuana, and Colombia.

Sicario: Which government employees help out the Chapo-Zetas?

Captive: That would be Rocha Moya, the State Police, and Municipal Policemen.

Sicario: What sort of relationship does the Chapos gunmen have with Rocha Moya?

Captive: He helps them to evade arrest and to operate with impunity.

Sicario: Who helped out Rocha Moya to win in his campaign?

Captive: Ivan Archivaldo, Victor Felix, and Panu.

Sicario: How exactly did the Chapo-Zetas influence the elections?

Captive: They showed influence on the orders of Ivan Archivaldo.

In this opening exchange, Luis Alberto Madueña Gastélum, a soldier for Los Chapitos, identifies the key figures financing and supporting their operations. As he faces the sicario from Mayito Flaco’s faction, Madueña reveals details about corrupt alliances with officials like Governor Rocha Moya and the cartel’s reach into local elections. His words expose the cartel’s connections to law enforcement and their influence in shaping political power.

Part 2: Key Members and Public Displays of Violence

Captive: Victor Felix, El Güerito, Panu, and El Europeo and I are all helping him.

Sicario: Who else supports you guys?

Captive: El 27, Perris, El Chimal, Gavilan, Teo, and Morro.

Sicario: Who disposed of those cadavers with sombreros out in public?

Captive: El Canas did that on the orders of El 27.

Sicario: What about the corpses found in La Panel?

Captive: El Gavilan did that job.

Sicario: How exactly is the State Police helping out the Chapos?

Captive: Commander Metal from the State Police helps them out. Every time they get arrested, Commander Metal helps them out.

Sicario: What about the Municipal Police?

Captive: Commander Juanito is their guy. He also has another police department in his pocket that helps him out.

Sicario: Who’s in charge of committing the abductions of the merchants?

Captive: That would be El 27. He’s in charge of kidnapping and extorting them. Whoever refuses to pay is either killed or robbed of everything.

As the interrogation intensifies, Madueña details the violent tactics of Los Chapitos’ enforcers, describing how figures like El Canas and El Gavilan publicly display bodies to send messages and maintain control. His revelations further expose the cartel’s close relationships with law enforcement, naming commanders who enable their operations and shield them from arrests. El 27, a key player, is identified as the muscle behind the extortion and abduction of merchants.

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Part 3: Fentanyl Production, Extortion, and Captive’s Final Words

Sicario: Who are the individuals that are making fentanyl?

Captive: That would be the Chapo-Zetas. To be exact, El 27, Ivan Archivaldo, Los Zetas, Panu, 24, Chimal, Morro, Jose Angel, and Victor Felix.

Sicario: What other types of extortions do the Chapos commit?

Captive: The egg farms, shrimp cultivators, Tecate producers, and prostitution rings are also extorted.

Sicario: Who are the individuals that are currently extorting?

Captive: That would be El 27. But Jose Angel is the bookkeeper for every extortion racket in place.

Sicario: Is there anything you’d like to say, fool?

Captive: Is there something that I’d like to say? Well, I know that some of you guys are looking at this video and that you know who I am. In addition, you also know that what I’ve said is true. Things are tough guys; this is a lost cause. And why is that? Well, we don’t get the type of support that we ask for. I went out on several hits over a course of 2 – 3 months. The guys that worked alongside me know that what I say is true. We were nothing more than cannon fodder here. There was never any sort of backup to help us out whenever we went out to work. They just kept giving us the runaround with that backup of theirs. The same thing happened to that operative out there in Cuatro Milpas that was said that he had switched sides. They claimed that the Mayos gunmen had killed him. But that shit wasn’t even true. That narrative was pushed out so that their own operatives wouldn’t flip on them…

In his final confession, Madueña reveals the extent of Los Chapitos’ fentanyl production and extortion network. His voice grows weary as he talks about his disillusionment, admitting that soldiers like him are mere expendable assets, sent on dangerous missions without support. His closing words reveal the manipulation he experienced, a stark reminder of the cartel’s ruthlessness even towards its own.

This Morning: The Discovery of Luis Alberto Madueña Gastélum’s Body

This morning, they found him—Luis Alberto Madueña Gastélum, discarded on the side of a lonely road in Culiacán. His face, swollen and mangled from beatings, was shrouded by a crude blindfold, a silent reminder of the fate that awaits those caught in the crossfire of cartel rivalries. The soldiers who found him stood solemnly, yellow tape stretching around his body, marking the spot where he had been left to rot.

Madueña’s red shirt was soaked in dried blood, his body twisted on the gravel, bearing the marks of torture inflicted by Mayito Flaco’s men. This was his punishment, the ultimate price for a life tied to Los Chapitos. In death, he became another example—a warning for anyone entangled in the cartel’s web. For those who serve, loyalty is a mirage, and stepping out of line leads only to an unmarked grave in the dirt.