Culiacan Sinaloa

The banner placed by Los Chapitos in Culiacán, accusing Jose Luis Cabrera Sarabia (El JL) and his brother Alejandro (El 02) of being responsible for the violence in Durango and Zacatecas, and of wanting to replicate it in Mazatlan and Culiacan, has an interesting context. It’s an example that in the world of drug trafficking, any betrayal and any alliance are possible... 

The Cabrera Sarabia brothers are the leaders of "Los Cabrera," a criminal organization that instills terror in Durango. They have historically been partners of the Sinaloa Cartel for drug production, sale, and transportation. When El Mayito Flaco declared war on Los Chapitos, "Los Cabrera" didn’t hesitate to support him.

Since then, convoys of hitmen have been sent from Durango to Sinaloa to take over the ranches controlled by Los Chapitos, such as in Concordia, Sinaloa, where the war against the "80" and "81" brothers of Los Chapitos has been deadly.

The Cabrera Sarabia brothers are also leaders of the Grupo Flechas, a group of hitmen primarily operating in Zacatecas in the war that El Mayo Zambada started against El Mencho and his CJNG. Some hitmen from Los Flechas have also traveled from Zacatecas to Sinaloa to support El Mayito Flaco. In Durango, the Cabreras have other groups of hitmen like Los Caimanes, which include state police officers.

Felipe Cabrera Sarabia (El Inge), brother of Alejandro and José Luis, was the leader of Los Cabrera until his arrest in Culiacán on December 26, 2011. At that time, he was an important operator of the Sinaloa Cartel, especially close to El Chapo Guzmán, with whom he had a close friendship. 

Los Cabrera had their operations center in Canelas, Durango, the hometown of Emma Coronel’s family, which is why they was closer to El Chapo than to El Mayo Zambada.

Felipe Cabrera Sarabia was extradited to the United States on June 12, 2020, and arrived at the federal court in Chicago, the same court that handled the case of Vicente Zambada Niebla. Guess what? That’s right, it was "Vicentillo" who turned in "El Inge." With the help of his father—El Mayo Zambada—Vicentillo leaked evidence and locations of El Inge to the U.S. government under his cooperation agreement. 

El Inge pleaded guilty to a drug trafficking charge and will be released from prison in 2029.

So, if the Cabrera Sarabia brothers were closer to El Chapo Guzman, and it was Vicentillo and El Mayo Zambada who turned El Inge over to the government, why are Los Cabrera supporting Mayito Flaco? What did Los Chapitos do to alienate these historic partners of their father? 

At what point did the alliance between Los Cabrera and El Mayo Zambada form, allowing Grupo Flechas to work under his service in Zacatecas? In the underworld of drug trafficking, nothing is set in stone, and reality usually surpasses fiction.