Hector Beltran-Leyva, Notorious Drug Lord, Dead: Report

Hector Beltran-Leyva

Getty Hector Beltran-Leyva.

Hector Beltran-Leyva, a notorious drug kingpin who was arrested in 2014, has reportedly died at the age of 56. The Mexican news outlet Milenio quoted federal government officials who confirmed his death.

Officials told the newspaper that Beltran-Leyva died after going into cardiac arrest. Prison doctors examined him, and noted that he was experiencing chest pains on his left side. He was moved from a maximum security prison in Antiplano to the López Mateos Medical Center in Toluca, west of Mexico City, where he passed away.

Hector Beltran-Leyva and his brothers Arturo, Carlos and Alfredo were all reportedly involved with the Sinaloa cartel. That’s the cartel previously run by Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, who is currently on trial in the United States.

According to the U.S. State Department, the brothers left the Sinaloa cartel in 2008 and formed their own drug trafficking organization, called ABL. The cartel allegedly moved weapons along with illicit drugs into the United States. The state department also accused the cartel of driving up violent crime rates in Mexico, through the use of “kidnapping, torture, murder, and various other acts of violence against numerous men, women, and children in Mexico.” The Beltrán Leyva cartel’s competition with the Sinaloa cartel was reportedly a main source of the violence, as they battled for control of territory.

The State Department described Hector Beltran Leyva as the top organizer in the cartel, responsible for the “planning, oversight, and overall control of the drug trafficking and money collection activities in Mexico City, Mexico, and oversees the control of drug trafficking corridors on behalf of the ABL.”

Hector Beltran-Leyva was reportedly second-in-command of the ABL cartel until his brother Arturo died in December 2009. According to El Imparcial, Arturo was killed by officers of the Mexican Navy at an “exclusive residential complex” in the city of Cuernavaca. Hector then reportedly assumed the top leadership role.

Beltran-Leyva was wanted in both Mexico and the United States for several years. There was a $5 million reward for his capture in the U.S. Mexican authorities offered the equivalent of $2.2 million for information leading to his arrest.

hector beltran-leyva

GettyView of a display with photos of Hector Beltran Leyva, the leader of the Beltran Leyva’s drug cartel during a press conference at the headquarters of the General Attorney in Mexico City, on October 1, 2014.

According to Milenio, Beltran-Leyva maintained a low-key lifestyle and tries to stay under the radar. He lived in Querétaro in central Mexico, reportedly posing as a businessman selling art and real estate. His nicknamed included “the H” and “El Ingeniero.”

Beltran-Leyva was arrested October 1, 2014 in San Miguel Allende by the Special Operations Unit of the Mexican Army. He was reportedly taken into custody peacefully, while at a seafood restaurant. He was carrying a military-issue handgun, but did not fire a shot.

Hector’s brother Alfredo is currently serving life in prison after pleading guilty in a Washington, D.C. courtroom. As reported by CBS News, it was suspected that El Chapo provided information that helped authorities capture Alfredo.

Hector’s brother Carlos, and his wife Clara Laborin Archuleta, are also serving prison sentences.