Sergio Villarreal Barragán
Encyclopedia
Sergio Enrique Villarreal Barragán a.k.a. El Grande, (b. September 21, 1969), is a former Mexican federal police officer who then worked as a lieutenant for Héctor Beltrán Leyva
of the criminal organisation called the Beltrán Leyva Cartel. He got his name El Grande because he is 6 in 7 in (2.01 m) tall.
Judicial Police force. Several years later, he was admitted to the Federal Police, which is led by the office Attorney General of Mexico and was stationed at Nuevo Laredo
. He was then stationed at Reynosa, Tamaulipas, where he worked until 1996, when he established a business relationship with the Juárez Cartel
. He later worked as a hit man for the Sinaloa Cartel
, the Gulf Cartel
and for Los Zetas
.
, while the other is led by the current cartel leader Héctor Beltrán Leyva
and his 'enforcer' lieutenant, Sergio Villarreal Barragán.
Villarreal has been charged with multiple murders and other crimes. The Mexican government had been offering a $30 million peso ($2.5 million USD) bounty for information leading to Villarreal's capture.
Héctor Beltrán Leyva
Héctor Beltrán Leyva is a Mexican drug lord and leader of the Beltrán Leyva Cartel.Héctor Beltrán Leyva is the brother of Arturo Beltrán Leyva , former leader of the cartel...
of the criminal organisation called the Beltrán Leyva Cartel. He got his name El Grande because he is 6 in 7 in (2.01 m) tall.
Biography
In 1990 at age 20, he was admitted to the CoahuilaCoahuila
Coahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico...
Judicial Police force. Several years later, he was admitted to the Federal Police, which is led by the office Attorney General of Mexico and was stationed at Nuevo Laredo
Nuevo Laredo
Nuevo Laredo is a city located in the Municipality of Nuevo Laredo in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. The city lies on the banks of the Río Grande, across from the United States city of Laredo, Texas. The 2010 census population of the city was 373,725. Nuevo Laredo is part of the Laredo-Nuevo...
. He was then stationed at Reynosa, Tamaulipas, where he worked until 1996, when he established a business relationship with the Juárez Cartel
Juárez Cartel
The Juárez Cartel , also known as the Vicente Carrillo Fuentes Organization, is a Mexican drug cartel based in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico, across the border from El Paso, Texas...
. He later worked as a hit man for the Sinaloa Cartel
Sinaloa Cartel
The Sinaloa Cartel is the most powerful drug cartel in Mexico and considered by the United States Intelligence Community as "the most powerful drug trafficking organization in the world." The Sinaloa Cartel is based in the city of Culiacán, Sinaloa, but also operates in the Mexican states of Baja...
, the Gulf Cartel
Gulf Cartel
The Gulf Cartel is one of the most powerful drug cartels in Mexico, and perhaps the oldest organized crime group in the country...
and for Los Zetas
Los Zetas
Los Zetas is the second most powerful drug cartel in Mexico and considered by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration as the most violent drug cartel and paramilitary enforcement group in Mexico...
.
Beltrán Leyva Cartel
Allegedly, he was hired by the Beltrán Leyva Cartel and by 2007 he rose to the rank of lieutenant for Arturo Beltrán Leyva. Following Arturo's death in December 2009 during a shootout with Marines, infighting broke out for the control of the Beltrán Leyva Cartel. One faction is led by lieutenants Édgar Valdez Villarreal and Gerardo Alvarez-VazquezGerardo Alvarez-Vazquez
José Gerardo Álvarez-Vázquez is a Mexican drug trafficker who worked for the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel and then for Édgar Valdez Villarreal's criminal organization known as Los Negros...
, while the other is led by the current cartel leader Héctor Beltrán Leyva
Héctor Beltrán Leyva
Héctor Beltrán Leyva is a Mexican drug lord and leader of the Beltrán Leyva Cartel.Héctor Beltrán Leyva is the brother of Arturo Beltrán Leyva , former leader of the cartel...
and his 'enforcer' lieutenant, Sergio Villarreal Barragán.
Bounty and arrest
On September 12, 2010 he was arrested in a raid by Mexican Marines in the central state of Puebla.Villarreal has been charged with multiple murders and other crimes. The Mexican government had been offering a $30 million peso ($2.5 million USD) bounty for information leading to Villarreal's capture.
See also
- Mérida InitiativeMérida InitiativeThe Mérida Initiative is a security cooperation agreement between the United States and the government of Mexico and the countries of Central America, with the declared aim of combating the threats of drug trafficking, transnational organized crime and money laundering...
- Mexican drug warMexican Drug WarThe Mexican Drug War is an ongoing armed conflict taking place among rival drug cartels who fight each other for regional control, and Mexican government forces who seek to combat drug trafficking. However, the government's principal goal has been to put down the drug-related violence that was...
- List of Mexico's 37 most-wanted drug lords