“El Chino Ántrax,”
a former Sinaloa Cartel member who spent time in a U.S. prison, was murdered in Sinaloa last the weekend, officials confirmed on Monday.
Mexican officials confirmed the victim was José Rodrigo Arechiga Gamboa , who built a deadly reputation under his nickname, “El Chino Ántrax.”
The bodies of Arechiga Gamboa, a woman believed to be his sister, and another man were found wrapped in blankets in a luxury SUV on the outskirts of Culiacán on May 16. Relatives later identified the body.
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After the bodies were found, the Attorney General’s Office announced it would investigate the case to confirm that one of the victims was José Rodrigo Aréchiga, “El Chino Ántrax,” using his family’s biometric data to corroborate his identity.
Days later, the three corpses were delivered to the family while the army and the National Guard patrolled the area.
The state Attorney General’s Office is investigating the homicides .
was known for his social media posts that showed him posing with expensive clothes, jewelry, and luxury cars.
Prosecutors said he had violated probation in the United States, and that U.S. consular officials were called to help in the case.
In 2015, Arechiga Gamboa pleaded guilty in a U.S. court to helping bring tons of cocaine and marijuana to the United States from Mexico and ordered and participated in violence against cartel rivals. He said in a plea agreement with prosecutors that he was a high-ranking member “responsible for a number of aspects of the cartel’s operations.”
He was sentenced for conspiracy to import a controlled substance to the U.S. but was released on probation in March. He then fled to Mexico.
He was arrested in Amsterdam in December 2013, less than two months before Sinaloa Cartel ’s top leader, Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán , was arrested in Mexico. Arechiga Gamboa was later extradited from the Netherlands to the U.S.
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In 2015, Laura Duffy, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California, said: “ Chino Ántrax is one of the highest-ranking Sinaloa cartel kingpins ever prosecuted in the United States.” He was associated with Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada , who continues to run the Sinaloa Cartel.
“El Chino Ántrax”
was born in Culiacán in 1980. He joined the Sinaloa Cartel and eventually became the leader of a group called “Los Ántrax,” who worked as an armed group for the cartel.
He underwent several plastic surgeries in a bid to change his identity.
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