The number one currency these cartels deal in is blood. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re examining notorious cartel assassinations that shocked nations.
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00:00 The bodies were discovered early yesterday morning by a farm worker
00:03 along a well-travelled road. They had not been there 12 hours earlier.
00:07 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're examining notorious cartel assassinations that shocked
00:12 nations. We'll explore what happened and see if those responsible faced any justice.
00:17 Actually, we are feeling very insecure. Each day you never know where something
00:21 will happen that can affect you or your family.
00:24 Fernando Villavicencio
00:27 Fernando Villavicencio was always outspoken about alleged links between politicians and
00:33 organized crime. Before entering politics, Villavicencio was an investigative journalist
00:38 who criticized former President Rafael Correa. As such, he spent time in prison and in exile.
00:45 After Ecuador's National Assembly was dissolved, Villavicencio ran for the presidency. In August
00:50 2023, after getting threats from gangs, he was leading a campaign rally in the capital city,
00:55 Quito. Just as Villavicencio got to his car, he was ambushed and fatally shot.
00:59 A man who'd exposed corruption. A man who said he wasn't afraid.
01:04 The assassin, Johan David Castillo López, also threw a grenade, which thankfully did not go off.
01:10 Nine people were injured, and López died from gunshot wounds. The criminal group Los Lobos
01:15 claimed responsibility for the attack, but this is disputed. Several people were arrested in
01:20 connection with the assassination. However, all of them were killed in prison.
01:24 Two daughters remembering their father. A very personal goodbye,
01:29 after what was a very public murder. Rodrigo Lara
01:32 In 1983, Lara was appointed Colombia's Minister of Justice by President Belisario Betancur.
01:38 He soon began targeting criminal organizations, corrupt politicians, and Pablo Escobar and his
01:44 group the Medellín Cartel. Lara's interference contributed to Escobar's expulsion from Congress
01:49 and investigation by authorities. In April 1984, Lara was traveling in a convoy when
01:54 Biron Velazquez and Iván Darío Guisado, paid by the Medellín Cartel, drove up to his vehicle
02:00 on motorbikes and opened fire, killing the minister. While Guisado was slain by Lara's
02:12 bodyguard, Velazquez was later arrested for the assassination and then paroled in 1995.
02:17 Escobar fled to Panama days after Lara's murder, as the government looked for justice.
02:22 Jaime Ramírez Working alongside Rodrigo Lara in stamping
02:32 out cartel influence was Colonel Ramírez, director of the Colombian Drug Enforcement
02:36 Unit for the National Police of Colombia. In 1984, Ramírez was involved in an operation
02:41 with the DEA to find the Medellín Cartel's stash in the jungle, delivering a huge blow to the group.
02:47 But this made Ramírez a target. In November 1986, while traveling with his family,
02:52 unknown assassins connected to the Medellín Cartel drove their vehicle alongside Ramírez's car.
02:58 After taking out the car that contained Ramírez's bodyguards, they opened fire.
03:02 They wounded Ramírez, causing him to crash before finishing the job.
03:13 In 1992, Ramírez was posthumously awarded the title of Brigadier General,
03:18 a position he was meant to have a month after his passing.
03:21 As a photojournalist specializing in crime in Tijuana, Mexico,
03:37 Ramírez was a well-known figure in the community. However, he was falsely linked
03:41 to a Facebook group that openly criticized cartels and unmasked members' identities.
03:46 After receiving threats, Martínez was in the process of getting governmental help
03:50 when in January 2022, he was fatally shot.
03:53 Adrián "El Uber" Ramos and José "El Hueso" Sochoa were reportedly paid around $2,500
04:07 to assassinate Martínez. In December 2022, the duo was both sentenced to 25 years in jail
04:14 and ordered to pay $25,000 compensation to Martínez's family. As of the time of writing,
04:19 the people who ordered the journalist's murder have not been charged.
04:35 After working with his brother Armando as a coyote, an immigrant smuggler,
04:39 everything changed for Sánchez in 1984 when his brother was murdered.
04:43 Four months after surviving an attack at a gig in Coachella,
04:53 Sánchez was handed an alleged threat while performing in Culiacán, Mexico.
05:04 As he left the venue with his family, an armed group pulled over their vehicle and took Sánchez.
05:09 His body was found the next day, seemingly executed by a cartel.
05:13 Another musician who was allegedly murdered by the Los Zetas group was Valentín Elizalde in 2006.
05:19 Only a year later, Sergio Gómez was fatally attacked by an apparent gang.
05:33 Zapata says while her son chose a life of service, these men chose a life of crime.
05:38 Now she questions what message the U.S. government is sending to others
05:42 about crimes against federal agents.
05:45 In February 2011, Zapata and Victor Avila, two agents with the U.S. Immigration and
05:50 Customs Enforcement, were traveling from Laredo, Texas to Mexico City.
05:54 While driving in the Mexican state of San Luis Potosí, two speeding vehicles appeared,
05:58 began opening fire, and rammed the agent's car off the road.
06:02 Even though Zapata and Avila loudly shouted they were U.S. diplomats,
06:05 the armed men continued shooting, injuring the agents and fleeing.
06:09 Their vehicle was cut off and bandits attacked.
06:12 Both agents were critically injured by gunfire.
06:15 Zapata drove away from the scene before collapsing and passing away.
06:18 Avila was treated for his wounds.
06:20 The Los Zetas cartel was responsible for the attack.
06:23 And eventually, the murderers were arrested.
06:25 The agent's Zapata story is one that we must not forget.
06:30 And it is one that we will not.
06:33 The 2010 San Fernando massacre.
06:35 This monument reminds us of the impunity that we have in our country.
06:41 In 2010, as a war between former allies Los Zetas and the Gulf cartel consumed
06:46 the Mexican city of San Fernando, an injured Ecuadorian teenager called Luis
06:50 approached some Mexican Marines.
06:52 He told them he had just survived a terrible massacre.
06:55 Luis had been part of a group of immigrants traveling towards the U.S.
06:58 who were taken to a warehouse by members of Los Zetas.
07:01 There, the gang executed 72 people, with only three lucky individuals surviving.
07:06 The group apparently did this to steal money, get information, and make sure the
07:11 immigrants were not working with the Gulf cartel.
07:13 Los Zetas are also believed to have slain two of the investigators into the massacre.
07:18 Eventually, 81 members of the gang were arrested.
07:21 After working for the police, Camarena joined the recently formed U.S.
07:27 Drug Enforcement Administration in 1973.
07:30 Eventually, he joined the branch in Guadalajara, Mexico, where his work led
07:34 to several plantations being seized.
07:36 Yeah, we got us field workers and a couple of managers, but the consolation prize is
07:42 we got all Donald's dope.
07:43 In February 1985, Camarena was abducted by corrupt officials.
07:48 He was believed to have been responsible for the closure of the 2,500-acre site
07:53 known as Rancho Búfalo the year before, leading to retaliation.
07:56 Camarena's body was found a month later, showing signs of abuse.
08:00 The investigation concluded that Guadalajara cartel founders Miguel Angel Félix Gallardo,
08:05 Rafael Caro Quintero, and Ernesto Fonseca Carillo were responsible,
08:09 getting a sentence of 40 years each.
08:12 Several others were sentenced for their participation, too.
08:14 However, there have been allegations the CIA was also involved.
08:18 Whatever they want, whatever they're looking for, you don't know anything.
08:29 The Monterrey Casino Attack
08:31 President Felipe Calderón came to the crime scene on Friday
08:34 and placed a wreath in front of the charred building.
08:37 In August 2011, members of the Los Zetas cartel sought revenge for the Casino Royale
08:42 in Monterrey, Mexico.
08:43 The owner had not paid a protection payment, so they decided to send a message.
08:47 The cartel forced their way into the casino, pouring gasoline everywhere as people ran
08:52 for the emergency exits, only to find the doors locked.
08:55 Then, Los Zetas set the building on fire and left within three minutes of arriving.
09:00 All of this was captured on surveillance footage.
09:02 When emergency services arrived, they found the bodies of 52 people inside and many injured.
09:08 By 2022, only five people who were linked to the attack were arrested on unrelated weapon charges.
09:14 The attackers are said to have doused flammable liquid in the casino and then set it alight.
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09:33 The 2011 San Fernando Massacre
09:38 Los Zetas have moved in.
09:39 They are Mexico's most violent, most depraved, most feared crime cartel.
09:44 In March 2011, over several days, public transport buses filled with passengers in San Fernando,
09:50 Mexico were taken by Los Zetas.
09:52 It's speculated the group did this to force people to work with them or interrogate passengers
09:57 suspected of involvement with the Gulf cartel.
10:00 The kidnapped people were assaulted and many allegedly made to fight each other in gladiator-style fights.
10:05 Over several weeks, the authorities began finding numerous mass graves.
10:10 In the end, 193 bodies were discovered.
10:13 Soon after, 82 people involved with Los Zetas were arrested in connection with the massacre.
10:18 16 corrupt police officers were imprisoned for aiding the gang.
10:22 This horrific event led to the cartel's higher-ups,
10:25 such as Miguel Treviño Morales, being imprisoned.
10:28 "He was captured on this country road near the Texan border.
10:31 With him, his bodyguard, his accountant, two million dollars in cash."
10:35 Which leader of a criminal organization is the most frightening?
10:38 Pablo Escobar? Ronnie and Reggie Kray? Griselda Blanco? Al Capone or someone else? Let us know below.
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10:53 [Music]