El Chapo hitman Chino Ántrax tortured, executed with sister, brother-in-law just days after fleeing to Mexico
EL PASO, TEXAS: One of the co-founders of a murder squad linked to Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman's Sinaloa Cartel was allegedly killed in Mexico. While El Chapo himself is in prison, his cartel continues their narco-business and way of life. The incident took place just 10 days after José Rodrigo 'Chino Ántrax' Arechiga Gamboa violated his probation term and fled from his Southern California home. The authorities found the bodies of Chino, his sister Ada Jimena Arechiga Gamboa and brother-in-law Juan García Espinoza on a road in Culiacan, KXAN reports.
The bodies were found inside a BMW X-5 sports vehicle that had been registered to Chino's sister, a local newspaper, El Sol de Culiacan reported. The car was found abandoned on a dirt road towards the east side of the city. According to the local news station, the bodies show signs of torture and also have visible bullet holes. Family members and relatives had said that the three people were abducted after a fight inside a home in the Guadalupe Victoria neighborhood of Culiacan.
Neighbors had also reported gunshots but the police never came. Chino had been a hitman for the Sinaloa cartel during the major drug wars almost a decade ago. His hit squad was involved in the killing of rivals from other drug organizations such as Arellano Felix, Beltran Leyva and Carrillo Fuentes.
Private security firm TorchStone Global's vice president Scott Stewart said, "I think (his death) is real. We’ve had a lot of confirmation now. He had a lot of enemies just from his time as an enforcer with (the Sinaloa cartel). But, based on where he was abducted and executed, which is Culiacan, I think it was an internal matter. He had to have known that he crossed some people, but I would imagine someone gave him reassurances that it was safe to come home. He was set up, basically."
The double-cross had either come as an order from current Sinaloa cartel drug lord Ismael 'El Mayor' Zambada or someone with major authority like El Chapo's sons. When the Sinaloa cartel emerged victorious in the drug trade in Mexico, Chino did not maintain a low profile and would flaunt his wealth on social media. He had been arrested in Amsterdam and was extradited to the USA around seven years ago. He was sentenced to seven years plus probation last December, Daily Mail reported.
He had been released on probation on March 3 but fled on March 6. Authorities in San Diego had launched a search for Chino after probation officers showed up to check on him, only to find him missing. Law enforcement sources had shared that Chino left behind his cell phone, removed his GPS monitor and had attached the monitor to the leg of a battery-operated doll that moved between the kitchen and bedroom, Telemundo reveals.
Chino was able to cross the Mexico-US border and he made it into Tijuana. Here he met his brother Ricardo Arechiga, a businessman who has managed to keep himself well-distanced from his siblings' life of crime.