Arrest of Major Sinaloa Cartel Faction Member Marks Another Chapter in Mexico's Narco-Conflict

Juan Carlos Felix Gastelum ('El Chavo Félix’), a financial operator of the ‘La Mayiza’ faction of the Sinaloa Cartel (CDS), and the son-in-law of Ismael Zambada Garcia ‘El Mayo,’ was captured on January 18^th, 2025, during an operation in Culiacan, Sinaloa. According to the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC), a patrol was traveling through the town of Quilá and identified Gastelum—who, after noticing the presence of authorities—attempted to flee, but was captured at a residence located along Lázaro Cárdenas street.

After a report by the National Detention Registry confirmed Gastelum’s arrest, Omar Hamid García Harfuch, the Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection of Mexico, published images of Gastelum while in custody and stated the operation had been headed by the Secretariat of National Defensa (Defensa) with the involvement of the National Guard (GN), the Navy (SEMAR), the SSPC, and the Attorney General’s Office of the Republic (FGR) as part of an ongoing effort to reduce the violence in Sinaloa.

Once in custody, Gastelum was transferred to the Federal Social Readaptation Center Number 1, or commonly known as the ‘Altiplano’ in Villa de Almoloya de Juárez. This is where he currently remains in preventative custody while facing criminal charges of crimes against health for the intent to trade fentanyl and possessing a firearm exclusively used by the military. A hearing on January 26^th determined Gastelum will remain in custody as a precautionary measure. Additionally, a five-month limit has been placed on the investigation against the criminal figure.

During the National Morning Press Conference on January 28^th, Secretary Harfuch identified Gastelum as a principal source of violence in Sinaloa, who supervised the production and transportation of fentanyl, cocaine, and heroin—stating that during the arrest authorities seized two firearms, two bags containing an unknown amount of fentanyl, and a vehicle.

Misinformation would quickly surround the case as local reports falsely attributed two images of the firearm that was allegedly seized during Gastelum’s arrest. The first image was of a Browning Hi-Power adorned with a figure of the character ‘El Chavo’ from the 1973 Television show ‘El Chavo del Ocho’ along with his iconic phrases ‘Se me chispoteó’ and ‘Es que no me tienen paciencia,’. The second image was a heavily customized 1911 decorated with a skeletal figure of El Chavo and other prominent characters of the 2006 animated television show ‘El Chavo’. The first image of the Browning Hi-Power was originally published on December 4th, 2018, following a shootout between gunmen and State Police in Culiacan, Sinaloa, which resulted in the arrests of two suspects who possessed the firearm and U.S documents. While the second image of the 1911 was edited to remove its placement on an unidentified individual’s lap with no indication it’s related to Gastelum’s arrest.

Sometime after Gastelum’s arrest, a radio communication circulated through social media where an unidentified member of the rival ‘Los Chapitos’ faction of CDS mocked the arrest of Gastelum and urged a figure identified as ‘El Comanche,’ Head of security for Ismael Zambada Sicairos ‘El Mayito Flaco,’ to come and fight in Culiacan. A translation is as follows:

“You see, you see…fucking group…Where are you? Where’s all that support you boasted of? That everyone was going to come and where are they? How many bullets did you lose for [him]? How many [gunmen] were killed during it?

…Make sure the message reaches that… ‘El Comanche,’ this [message] is for the fat ass Comanche and his friend, come to the Capital you fuckers, you [allegedly] have been winning for months but we don’t see anything, there’s nothing to see.

You keep messing with YouTubers because you can’t [against us]...Look Comanche…bring your ten, fifteen, twenty [armored vehicles], but make sure to bring [armored vehicles]...Come with your [armored vehicles] and the support you allegedly have.

If you want to fight, come down now…be ready, we’ll meet head on…here we don’t retreat…The teams of Juan and Jose Avéndaño are at the entrance and with them you won’t pass, but still come to [fight].

You already know Comanche, let's fight. How do you feel about that? Once and for all…You already know [come fight] or look like a [coward]...Pure Chapiza you already know.”

Sources conflict on the name of ‘El Comanche’ and would identify him as Juan Pedro Gómez López, Manuel de Jesús Gómez López, or Pedro Manuel Vidaña. Regardless, information indicates El Comanche had orchestrated the violence that was unleashed on September 9th, 2024 in Culiacan and maintains the ongoing conflict against Los Chapitos.

Around January 21^st, a wanted poster designed by the Los Chapitos faction circulated through social media where they offered one million pesos in return for the location of El Comanche. They allege he is responsible for the killing of innocent people under the orders of Ismael’s Sicarios and are seeking the criminal figure for “a better Sinaloa.” The translation:

“Notice for the population of Sinaloa, the Sinaloa Cartel - Los Chapitos (ALG) [we] offer a large sum of money of 1 million Mexican pesos for the location you give us of this killer of innocents ‘El Comanche,’ this person is dedicated to killing innocent people; among them women, children, the elderly…He doesn’t care who he affects with his intentions of causing terror under the orders of ‘Mayito Flaco’... In Sinaloa the Mayo’s are not welcomed and never will be. We offer great discretion, if you provide the location of this killer of innocent people, tell us, and take the reward. For a better Sinaloa.

Sincerely, ALG”

The poster would be signed by Alejandro López Guzmán or ‘ALG,’ a family member of Los Chapitos leadership, and the figure who helped arrange an alleged alliance between the ‘Jalisco New Generation Cartel’ (CJNG), and the aforementioned faction, ‘Fuerzas Especiales Unión’ (FEU), whose principal iconography would be an AI produced green logo with a pizza and rooster with its name crudely written. Around October 19^th, 2024 a communication would circulate through social media allegedly confirming the integration of the ‘Cartel de Chiapas y Frontera Guatemala’ into the alliance, although local reports deny the validity of such claims.

It’s unclear when Gastelum had initially involved himself in the criminal organization, but claims indicate he had gained a notable role after the arrest of his father Juan Francisco Félix Ojeda ‘Pancho Félix,’ who was a Sinaloa Cartel member closely associated with the former leader Ismael Zambada. On January 22^nd, 2009, after failing to stop at a security checkpoint in Culiacan, Sinaloa, while traveling aboard a stolen Jeep Liberty alongside José Lamberto Verdugo Calderón ‘El Verdugo’ (CDS Lieutenant), and Sergio Luis Félix, in the Costa Rica region, they were shot at by military personnel, gravely injuring Calderón who would later pass away while receiving medical attention at the Institute of Security and Social Services for State Workers (ISSSTE) and both Félix and Lamberto were detained by soldiers.

Gastelum would further integrate himself into the criminal organization over the years by allegedly heading ‘Los Demonios’ or ‘Los Siete Demonios,’ a criminal cell based in Sonora that would primarily traffic illicit substances such as cocaine and methamphetamines through markets in California, Arizona, and Texas. He continued to develop to the point of being identified as the second successor of the La Mayiza faction behind Ismael Sicarios, son of Ismael Zambada, who took the reins of the criminal faction following his father’s arrest on July 23^rd, 2024, in El Paso, Texas.

While the arrest has been publicized as an important blow against the Sinaloa Cartel, Gastelum was but one of the numerous figures that play a pivotal role in the criminal organization whose violent internal conflict needs to be prioritized to avoid the bloodshed that has affected not only the residents of Sinaloa but the people who live in the many territories contested by both factions throughout Mexico.