Eleno Salazar Flores

Eleno Salazar Flores (born 1964/1965), also known as "Pantera 6" (English: Panther 6), is a Mexican convicted drug lord and former high-ranking member of the Gulf Cartel, a criminal group based in Tamaulipas, Mexico. He was a trusted enforcer of former kingpin Mario Ramírez Treviño, who appointed him the regional boss of Camargo. He helped to coordinate cocaine and marijuana shipments heading to Reynosa and Río Bravo before they were smuggled into the U.S. for further distribution. In 2014, he was arrested by federal forces in Reynosa and imprisoned in a maximum-security facility in the State of Mexico. Salazar Flores was convicted of drug trafficking in 2017 and sentenced to 20 years. He was also ordered to pay 500 days of the minimum wage in fines, totaling MXN$33,645.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Salazar and the second or maternal family name is Flores.
Eleno Salazar Flores
Born
Jiménez, Tamaulipas, Mexico

1964/1965 (age 55–56)
NationalityMexican
Other names
  • Pantera 6
OccupationDrug lord
EmployerGulf Cartel
Criminal charge(s)
  • Drug trafficking
Criminal penalty20 years
Criminal status
  • Convicted

Early life and career

Eleno Salazar Flores was born in Jiménez, Tamaulipas, Mexico, in 1964/1965.[1] He was a high-ranking member of the Gulf Cartel, a criminal group based in Tamaulipas.[2][3] When Salazar Flores started his criminal career, he was known for keeping a low-profile.[4] He then rose through the leadership ranks and became one of the Gulf Cartel's main administrators under the kingpin Mario Ramírez Treviño ("El Pelón").[5][6] After cartel leader Samuel Flores Borrego ("Metro 3") was killed in September 2011, Ramírez Treviño reportedly took his place and appointed Salazar Flores as the regional boss of Camargo. In this role, he was responsible for coordinating drug trafficking shipments heading to Reynosa and Río Bravo before they were smuggled into the U.S. for further distribution.[5][7] He was also responsible for supervising human trafficking rings, arms smuggling operations and the flow of drug proceeds back into Mexico. Independent smugglers who wanted to operate in his region were ordered to pay a fee that Salazar Flores's faction collected.[lower-alpha 1][9] The corridor in Tamaulipas that Salazar Flores supervised was key to the Gulf Cartel's international drug trafficking operations.[10] By working closely with Ramírez Treviño, Salazar Flores was identified as a high-ranking member of the Gulf Cartel and became increasingly important. In August 2013, Ramírez Treviño was arrested, and Salazar Flores began to work under kingpin Juan Manuel Rodríguez García ("Juan Perros"), who became one of the cartel's leaders.[11]

In the cartel, Salazar Flores was known by his alias "Pantera 6" (English: Panther 6),[12] a code name that derived from his association with the cartel faction known as Los Pantera (English: The Panthers) or Grupo Pantera (English: Panther Group).[13][14] He was reportedly the leader of the faction which served as an assassination squad and was composed mostly of former members from the Tamaulipas State Police.[11][13] Salazar Flores also went by the alias "Leno", which is a shortened version of his first name Eleno.[15] In June 2013, a federal judge in the State of Mexico issued an arrest warrant against him for his organized crime involvement and drug trafficking charges.[16] Salazar Flores was also subject to at least three investigations at the federal level for other crimes under that jurisdiction.[lower-alpha 2][18] After Rodríguez García was arrested in May 2014,[19] infighting broke out within the Gulf Cartel, and factions headed by Salazar Flores competed against those aligned to Juan Francisco Martínez Ramírez ("Paquito 77").[lower-alpha 3][21] In mid-2014, the Mexican government began a new security strategy to combat organized crime groups in Tamaulipas. They issued a list of the states's fourteen most-wanted criminals, including Salazar Flores.[lower-alpha 4][25]

Arrest and conviction

On 24 July 2014,[26] Salazar Flores was arrested in Reynosa during a joint operation carried out by the Attorney General's Office (PGR), the Federal Police, the Mexican Navy and Army.[27] He was captured with Guadalupe Gerardo Treviño Estrada (aged 48), a state police officer from Matamoros.[28] According to the National Security Commission (CNS) (es) chief Monte Alejandro Rubido García, his arrest was a result of law enforcement intelligence.[29] Security forces received a tip from an anonymous citizen who told the police of a meeting being held by organized crime members.[30] This information helped security forces learn of Salazar Flores' whereabouts. No shots were fired during his apprehension.[31] At the scene, authorities seized two vehicles, three handguns, three rifles and magazines, and a bag with methamphetamine.[32] For carrying firearms, both suspects were found in flagrante delicto and were indicted for illegal possession of firearms.[33] Both Salazar Flores and Treviño Estrada were placed under the jurisdiction of the PGR.[34] They were flown to Mexico City on 25 July for their formal declaration at the PGR's installations in Colonia Guerrero.[33]

On 25 July 2014, several shootouts between the Federal Police and suspected Gulf Cartel gunmen broke out in different parts of Reynosa. The shootouts were described as part of the turmoil in the aftermath of Salazar Flores' arrest. According to law enforcement reports, that evening a vehicle driven by suspected cartel members was ordered to stop by policemen. The suspects disobeyed the request and fled the scene which triggered a pursuit; a shootout then broke out between both parties.[35] Three suspected gangsters were killed, including Raúl Hernández Barrón ("El Flanders 1"), a high-ranking cartel member.[35][36] The following day, journalists reported that another shootout broke out in Reynosa near the Pharr–Reynosa International Bridge. This incident also originated after a vehicle stop, but on this occasion one police officer was killed and two others were wounded. Six suspected cartel members were arrested and taken into custody. Though government officials did not provide an official statement on these shootouts, there were reports of more gunfights, roadblocks, and the presence of armed men around Reynosa on social media.[35]

In August 2014, Salazar Flores was transferred to the Federal Social Readaptation Center No. 1 ("Altiplano"), a maximum-security prison in the State of Mexico, following an order from a State of Mexico federal judge.[16] On 25 April 2017,[37] the Assistant Attorney General's Office for Special Investigations on Organized Crime (SEIDO), Mexico's organized crime investigation agency, confirmed that a judge in Toluca, State of Mexico, had sentenced Salazar Flores to 20 years in prison and 500 days of minimum-wage fines, totaling MXN$33,645 (roughly US$1,787 in 2017).[38] The conviction confirmed that Salazar Flores played a leading role as one of the Gulf Cartel's financial operators.[39] In addition, he was found guilty of participating in cocaine and marijuana trafficking activities from Mexico to the U.S., as well as collecting taxes from independent traffickers who operated in his region.[16]

See also

Footnotes
  1. In the Mexican criminal underworld, this fee or taxation is known as piso.[8]
  2. Another source stated that there were at least four federal investigations against Salazar Flores.[17]
  3. In primary sources, Juan Francisco Martínez Ramírez was referred to by his aliases José Francisco Loredo Gaona or Francisco Banda Lucio.[20][21] However, it was later revealed that his alias was "Paquito 77",[21] whose real identity is Martínez Ramírez.[22]
  4. The existence of this list was first published by the media outlet 24 Horas on April 2014.[23][24] It included 12 most-wanted criminals instead of 14.[24] The cited source mentions that the list was released officially in May 2014.[25] In July 2014, the list was updated to 14 criminals, this time including Salazar Flores.[24]

References
  1. "Querían ser líderes del Cártel del Golfo; ahora están detenidos". El Diario de Coahuila (in Spanish). 10 August 2014. Archived from the original on 31 January 2020.
  2. Chapa, Sergio (25 July 2014). "Authorities: Gulf Cartel leader captured in Reynosa". KGBT-TV. Archived from the original on 31 January 2020.
  3. "Gulf Cartel". InSight Crime. 30 January 2020. Archived from the original on 1 April 2020.
  4. "Cae líder de organización criminal en Tamaulipas". El Huevo Heraldo (in Spanish). 25 July 2015. Archived from the original on 30 January 2020.
  5. "Conferencia: Mensaje a medios del Comisionado Nacional de Seguridad, Monte Alejandro Rubido García" (in Spanish). Secretariat of the Interior. 25 July 2014. Archived from the original on 13 October 2014.
  6. "Cae líder del CDG en Reynosa". Multimedios (in Spanish). 25 July 2014. Archived from the original on 31 January 2020.
  7. "Sources name new cartel boss in Reynosa". The Monitor. 3 September 2011. Archived from the original on 7 August 2012. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  8. Monroy, Jorge (27 July 2014). "Detenidos siete de los 14 delincuentes objetivo". El Economista (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 31 January 2020.
  9. "Cae uno de los principales 'objetivos' en Tamaulipas". El Siglo de Torreón (in Spanish). 25 July 2014. Archived from the original on 27 July 2014.
  10. "Mexican federal forces arrest high-priority suspect in Tamaulipas". The San Diego Union-Tribune. EFE. 26 July 2014. Archived from the original on 31 January 2020.
  11. "Cae narco en Tamaulipas; es el séptimo de 14 en la mira". La Razón (in Spanish). 26 July 2014. Archived from the original on 31 January 2020.
  12. "Detenido 'El Pantera 6', importante operador del Cártel del Golfo". Quadratín (in Spanish). 25 July 2014. Archived from the original on 3 February 2020.
  13. Muñoz, Alma E.; Castillo, Gustavo (26 July 2014). "Confirma Rubido la captura de Eleno Salazar Flores, capo del cártel del Golfo". La Jornada (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 21 January 2020.
  14. Maya, Arcelia (26 July 2014). "Atrapan en Tamaulipas uno de los más buscados". Reforma (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 20 March 2019.
  15. "Cae comandante del cártel de los Zetas en Tamaulipas". El Financiero (in Spanish). 23 March 2015. Archived from the original on 4 February 2020.
  16. "Sentencian a operador financiero del Cártel del Golfo". López-Dóriga Digital (in Spanish). 30 April 2017. Archived from the original on 4 February 2020.
  17. "Cae operador del Cártel del Golfo en Tamaulipas". Proceso (in Spanish). 25 July 2014. Archived from the original on 31 January 2020.
  18. "Cae en Tamaulipas 'objetivo prioritario' del Gobierno Federal". Excélsior (in Spanish). 25 July 2014. Archived from the original on 31 January 2020.
  19. "Capturan a 'Juan Perros', líder del cártel del Golfo". Milenio (in Spanish). 26 May 2014. Archived from the original on 31 January 2020.
  20. Magallanes, Jatziri (25 July 2014). "Cae 'El Pantera 6', suman 7 los objetivos neutralizados en Tamaulipas". MVS Comunicaciones (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 31 January 2020.
  21. "Dan 20 años a líder de Cártel del Golfo". Reforma (in Spanish). Mexico City. 30 April 2017.
  22. Chapa, Sergio (9 December 2014). "Records: Cartel leader betrayed by one of his own". KGBT-TV. Archived from the original on 31 January 2020.
  23. Ángel, Arturo (15 April 2014). "Buscan en Tamaulipas a 12 líderes del narco". 24 Horas (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 21 July 2014.
  24. Itzli (8 August 2014). "The Tamaulipas Most Wanted List Revisited". Borderland Beat. Archived from the original on 1 August 2019.
  25. López, Lorena (26 July 2014). "En 2 meses caen 7 de 14 objetivos en Tamaulipas". Milenio (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2 August 2019.
  26. "Cae criminal en Tamaulipas". La Silla Rota (in Spanish). 25 July 2014. Archived from the original on 4 February 2020.
  27. "Capturan a uno de los principales 'objetivos' en Tamaulipas". El Informador (in Spanish). 25 July 2014. Archived from the original on 31 January 2020.
  28. "Detienen a Eleno Salazar, de los más buscado de Tamaulipas". El Debate de Sinaloa (in Spanish). EFE. 26 July 2014. Archived from the original on 6 March 2017.
  29. "Atrapan a 'Pantera 6'". El Mañana de Reynosa (in Spanish). 26 July 2014. Archived from the original on 31 January 2020.
  30. "Detienen en Tamaulipas a Eleno Salazar, uno de los objetivos principales". Radio Fórmula (in Spanish). 25 July 2014. Archived from the original on 31 January 2020.
  31. "Detienen en Reynosa a un presunto líder del Cartel del Golfo". 20 Minutos (in Spanish). Notimex. 25 July 2014. Archived from the original on 29 July 2014.
  32. "Cae Eleno Salazar, uno de los objetivos principales de la estrategia de seguridad en Tamaulipas". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 24 July 2014. Archived from the original on 31 January 2020.
  33. "Ponen a mando del CDG a disposición de SEIDO para que rinda declaración ministerial". MVS Comunicaciones (in Spanish). 25 July 2014. Archived from the original on 31 January 2020.
  34. "Detienen a Salazar Flores, objetivo de estrategia en Tamps". El Universal (in Spanish). Notimex. 25 July 2014. Archived from the original on 31 January 2020.
  35. "Tiroteos en Tamaulipas viernes y sábado; se habla de varios muertos, pero de eso el gobierno no informa". Sin Embargo (in Spanish). 26 July 2014. Archived from the original on 31 January 2020.
  36. Rodríguez, David (28 July 2014). "Abaten al Flanders 1, operativo del Cártel del Golfo". Quadratín (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 23 August 2019.
  37. "5to Infome de Labores" (PDF) (in Spanish). Subprocuraduría Especializada en Investigación de Delincuencia Organizada. 2017. p. 56. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 June 2018.
  38. "Condenan a 20 años de prisión a 'El Pantera 6', ex operador del cártel del Golfo". 24 Horas (in Spanish). 30 April 2017. Archived from the original on 31 January 2020.
  39. Mosso, Rubén (30 April 2017). "Dan 20 años al ex operador financiero del Cártel del Golfo". Milenio (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 31 January 2020.

Further reading
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