Jesús Enrique Rejón Aguilar
Jesús Enrique Rejón Aguilar | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | June 9, 1976 Sabancuy, Carmen Municipality, Campeche, Mexico |
| Other names | Z-7 El Mamito |
| Occupation | A former leader of Los Zetas |
| Criminal status | Captured (July 4, 2011) and Extradited to the United States (Sep 11, 2012) |
| Criminal charge | Organized crime, murder, drug trafficking, mercenary |
Jesús Enrique Rejón Aguilar (a.k.a. Z-7, El Mamito)[1] is a former leader of the Mexican criminal organization known as Los Zetas.[2][3] He was wanted by the governments of Mexico and USA until his capture on July 4, 2011 in Atizapán de Zaragoza, a Mexico City suburb.[4]
Biography
[edit]Rejón Aguilar was born in Sabancuy, Carmen Municipality, Campeche, Mexico, in 1976.[5] On April 3, 1993, Rejón Aguilar entered the Mexican Army in his home state of Campeche and in 1996 was assigned to Special Forces Airmobile Group (GAFE). In 1997, he was assigned to the Mexico's Federal Attorney General's Office (PGR) in the cities of Reynosa and Miguel Alemán in Tamaulipas. In 1998 he was assigned to Saltillo, Coahuila. He deserted the army in February 1999 and in March the same year, at the invitation of Arturo Guzmán Decena, known as "The Z1" was integrated into the group of 14 former soldiers who founded Los Zetas as the armed wing of the Gulf Cartel.[6][7]
Rejón Aguilar oversaw the paramilitary training of new recruits[8] and then oversaw Gulf Cartel trafficking activities in the state of Coahuila along with Alejandro Treviño Morales. Rejón Aguilar is responsible for multi-ton shipments of marijuana and multi-kilogram shipments of cocaine from Mexico to the United States.[2][9] In 2004, Rejón Aguilar coordinated a failed raid on the maximum security prison 'El Altiplano', as he attempted to liberate his boss Osiel Cárdenas Guillén.[10] According to government documents, his plan consisted of using 3 helicopters and over 50 Zeta members to liberate Cárdenas Guillén.[11] In 2007 Rejón Aguilar was assigned to the streets of Nuevo Laredo and Miguel Alemán under the command of Miguel Treviño Morales, where he remained until early 2009.
After the split between the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas in 2010, Rejón Aguilar was assigned as the regional coordinator in the states of central and northern Mexico.
Kingpin Act sanction
[edit]On 24 March 2010, the United States Department of the Treasury sanctioned Rejón Aguilar under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (sometimes referred to simply as the "Kingpin Act"), for his involvement in drug trafficking along with fifty-three other international criminals and ten foreign entities.[12] The act prohibited U.S. citizens and companies from doing any kind of business activity with him, and virtually froze all his assets in the U.S.[13]
Capture
[edit]Mexican authorities had posted a $30 million peso (US$2.3 million) bounty for Rejón Aguilar,[14] while the United States posted in July 2009 a US$5 million bounty.[2][3][15] On July 4, 2011, police captured Rejón in a Mexico City suburb without firing a shot.[4][16]
Rejón Aguilar was extradited to the United States on 11 September 2012 for drug trafficking and organized crime charges,[17][18] pleading guilty for conspiracy to traffic large sums of narcotics to the U.S. in February 2013. He faces a mandatory 10-year sentence and a maximum sentence of life in prison.[19]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Zetas" se surten en Guatemala: Rejón". El Universal (Mexico City) (in Spanish). 6 June 2011. Archived from the original on 12 October 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
- ^ a b c "Narcotics Rewards Program: Jesus Enrique Rejon-Aguilar". United States Department of State. Archived from the original on 11 January 2011. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
- ^ a b "Reward Offers for Top Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas Leaders". Washington, D.C.: United States Department of State. 20 July 2009. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
- ^ a b Lange, Jason (4 July 2011). "Mexico nabs top lieutenant of dreaded Zetas cartel". Reuters. Mexico City. Archived from the original on 14 December 2011. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
- ^ "Armamento de 'Los Zetas' se compra en EU, dice fundador del grupo criminal". CNNMéxico (in Spanish). 5 July 2011. Archived from the original on 9 October 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
- ^ "Ley de Transparencia" (in Spanish). Secretariat of National Defense. 1 September 2009. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
- ^ "Cae "El Mamito", líder Zeta implicado en la muerte del agente Zapata". Milenio (in Spanish). Mexico City. 4 July 2011. Archived from the original on 7 September 2011. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
- ^ Reyes, José (6 September 2009). "El imperio del Lazca durante el foxismo". Contralínea (in Spanish). Mexico City. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
- ^ "DEA Fugitive: REJON-AGUILAR, JESUS ENRIQUE". Drug Enforcement Administration. Archived from the original on 2 January 2010. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
- ^ "Cae presunto líder fundador de Los Zetas". El Universal (in Spanish). Mexico City. 4 July 2011. Archived from the original on 12 October 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
- ^ Baranda, Antonio (25 February 2011). "Ubican en SLP a 'El Mamito', jefe de El Piolín". Terra Networks (in Spanish). Reforma. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
- ^ "DESIGNATIONS PURSUANT TO THE FOREIGN NARCOTICS KINGPIN DESIGNATION ACT" (PDF). United States Department of the Treasury. 15 May 2014. p. 11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 May 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
- ^ "An overview of the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act" (PDF). United States Department of the Treasury. 2009. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 May 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
- ^ Vega, Aurora (28 February 2012). "Los Zetas ordenaron el ataque y la muerte del agente de EU". Excélsior (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 3 March 2011. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
- ^ "Treasury Targets Perpetrators of Mexican Drug Trafficking Violence Tied to Los Zetas and the Gulf Cartel". United States Department of the Treasury. 24 March 2010. Archived from the original on 21 September 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
- ^ Romo, Rafael (4 July 2011). "Authorities: Mexican drug lord tied to death of ICE agent captured". CNN. Archived from the original on 21 January 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
- ^ Vega, Aurora (11 September 2012). "El Mamito es extraditado a EU; era fundador de Los Zetas". Excélsior (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
- ^ Jackson, Allison (12 September 2012). "Mexico: Senior Zetas drug cartel member Jesus Enrique Rejon Aguilar extradited to the US". GlobalPost. Archived from the original on 5 October 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
- ^ "Mexico's "Los Zetas" Cartel Member Pleads Guilty to Drug Conspiracy Charges in U.S." Latin American Herald Tribune. Washington, D.C. 1 February 2013. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2013.