In September 2009, in Mexico, the Guerrero Preventive Police made a significant arrest – Jose Luis Flores Gonzalez, also known by the aliases Alejandro Balderrama Pino or Alejandro Valderrama Pino, and more infamously as “El Rulex” or “El Ruly.” Flores Gonzalez was an influential figure associated with the notorious Beltran Leyva Cartel.
The Mexican Attorney General’s Office (FGR) recently announced that a federal judge sentenced El Rulex to an astounding 213 years in prison. This sentence comes from his involvement in organized crime, particularly kidnapping, illegal confinement, and unauthorized possession of military-exclusive firearms.
A Life in Crime
El Rulex’s reign of terror was primarily centered around the regions of Benito Juarez and Tecpan de Galeana in the state of Guerrero. The FGR credits him with leading a criminal syndicate primarily engaged in kidnappings. After his demise, a slew of narcocorridos – ballads that pay homage to drug lords – sprang up, marking the end of an era in Guerrero’s criminal underbelly.
The road to his conviction wasn’t straightforward. The Fifth District Judge for Federal Criminal Proceedings in Toluca oversaw the extensive legal proceedings that culminated in his sentencing. Beyond the lengthy prison sentence, the court has levied a hefty fine of 739,092.65 pesos against him. Currently, Flores Gonzalez resides behind bars in the Federal Center for Social Readaptation Number 14 “CPS-Durango,” located in Gómez Palacio, Durango.
Investigations and Implications
Back in March 2016, both El Rulex and an associate, Víctor Daniel Carbajal Mejía, were subjects of a unique 40-day investigatory detention called arraigo. This was initiated due to their suspected ties to the Beltran Leyva organization and their alleged involvement in various kidnappings in the Acapulco Port area and the Costa Grande of Guerrero. The El Universal newspaper had reported their handover to the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office in Guerrero, sparking a deeper inquiry.
Responding to public outcry, the then Federal Attorney General’s Office (PGR), now renamed FGR, took over the investigation. Their main goal? To ascertain the duo’s relationship with the Beltrán Leyva brothers and their cartel.
The Decline of Beltran Leyva Cartel
A recent publication, “Mexico: Organized Crime and Drug Trafficking Organizations,” released in June 2022, offers some insight into the larger context. It chronicles the fall of the Beltran Leyva Cartel. Once a powerhouse in the drug trade, the cartel experienced numerous setbacks. These began with the killing of Arturo Beltran in 2009 and were exacerbated by the capture of Carlos Beltran Leyva. Today, the cartel no longer holds sway over any state. Nonetheless, it maintains active cells in states like Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sinaloa, and several others.
This narrative is a testament to the evolving landscape of organized crime in Mexico and the determined efforts of the justice system to curtail it.