Heads Rolling on Streets in Bloody Mexican Drug War

mexico city - Arrest of El Piyi Strikes Blow to Notorious Mexican Drug Gang

Last week's capture of El Piyi, a feared assassin working for the leaders of 'los Chapitos', dealt a significant blow to Mexico's infamous drug gang. After the arrest of drug lord Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada on July 25 by the United States, a bloody power struggle erupted between 'los Mayos' and 'los Chapitos', two of the main factions of the Sinaloa Cartel. Led by Zambada's son El Mayito Flaco on one side and brothers Jesús and Iván Guzmán on the other, the clashes between the Mayos and the Chapitos resulted in at least 51 deaths in the past two weeks, with over 60 people missing. Consequently, the Mexican army dispatched an additional 600 troops to Sinaloa last weekend to curb the violence.

The conflict is not limited to Sinaloa alone. In Tijuana, Baja California, and Ojinaga, Chihuahua, nineteen people were brutally killed in a single day. Eleven bodies, two decapitated, were found in Chihuahua. 300 additional officers were deployed after six murders in the area. Shortly after, eleven more people were murdered within twelve hours in Tijuana. Four of the victims were discovered dead in the trunk of an abandoned car on one of the city's busiest roads. Their naked bodies displayed signs of strangulation.

El Piyi, a central figure in the security of the Chapitos, was arrested last week, dealing a significant blow to the sons of the infamous drug lord Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán. The Chapitos took over their father's faction after his life imprisonment sentence in the United States in 2019.

Meanwhile, two other Chapitos are awaiting trial in a U.S. prison. Ovidio Guzmán, Jesús and Iván's half-brother, was extradited from Mexico to the U.S. in October last year. This year, Joaquín Guzmán, Jr. voluntarily surrendered to American authorities on July 25 in El Paso, bringing along the legendary 73-year-old drug boss Ismael Zambada, claiming he was set up by Joaquín Jr.

El Piyi, born Mario Alexander, is believed to be a perpetrator of the recent violence. Recruited by El Nini, the head of the Chapitos' security team who was arrested last November, El Piyi gained some notoriety for his involvement in the two infamous Culiacan shootings in 2019 and 2023, triggered by Ovidio's arrests. El Piyi, always seen in public wearing a balaclava, maintained a low profile unlike his former boss El Nini, who flaunted an extravagant lifestyle on social media. El Piyi refrained from Tiktok, Instagram, and Facebook.

Despite his anonymity, El Piyi's identity slowly unveiled through narcocorridos, songs glorifying drug criminals and their lifestyles. A narcorrido by Peso Pluma ultimately led to El Piyi's downfall. In his song 'La People II', the singer references El Piyi, with the music video featuring masked men.

The lyrics of the song play a pivotal role in El Piyi's arrest. 'I no longer show myself among the people,' starts the singer in his musical dedication. 'We go out to defend the boss's son. We must continue to defend him. It was on different Thursdays that I battled with them. The 27 and Piyi, defend my territory, my family, and the elderly.' Number 27 refers to El Piyi's boss Jorge Humberto. The Thursdays mentioned by Peso Pluma relate to the Culiacan shootings.

El Piyi's recent role was crucial in defending Culiacán, the capital of Sinaloa, against Mayo attacks. Interestingly, El Piyi was arrested on a Thursday.