He has a song telling everyone of his feats, a movie he promoted, armored cars and gold covered guns with his nick-name engraved in diamonds, an army of over 200 men wearing uniforms bearing the name, his ultimate self-centered-ness: “Crotches” Special Forces.

He was in charge of disposing of those killed by “Teo,” he was the one who took them to the “stew maker” or Pozolero, who in turn would dissolve the bodies of enemies and kidnap victims in acid, erasing every trace of their crimes.

As rumor has it, he didn’t eat anything that wasn’t prepared by his own private cook, for fear of being poisoned, and he managed to escape arrest at the hands of federal police in a number of shootings and confrontations across the city.

He loved MTV’s Jackass so much he even used their logo in the uniform he designed for his “special forces” (FEM for short); his “army” consisted of six assault teams of 30 to 40 men, in charge of murdering, torturing and kidnapping hundreds of people throughout Baja California.

His arrest had been rumored at least a dozen times before, and sources mention his daring escape from federal agents in the so called “Narco-Christening” in the 3 hour shooting at “La Cupula,” a sting operation put together at Calimax stadium during a boxing match and even in the middle of a shootout against Federal Agents, at a busy seafood restaurant called Mariscos Godoy, where his brother was taken into custody.

Raydel Rosalío López Uriarte, a.k.a “El Muletas” (Crutches) is just 30 years old, and he was finally arrested in a secret operation lead by federal police in La Paz, South Baja California. With him, was José Manuel García Simental, aka “El Chiquilín” (Tiny) and two of their guards.

“Chiquilín” is Teodoro García Simental, “Teo’s” younger brother. He was recently arrested in a similar manner in the same quiet city of La Paz, all the way at the tip of the Peninsula.

Federal authorities claim after Teo’s arrest, came the turn of 27-year-old “Chiquilin” to claim the throne and become the leader of the drug operation in Baja California, with the support of “Crutches” who was in charge of thug recruiting, police protection and the management of the criminal structure.

The investigation, developed in part with the DEA, found “Muletas” had at least three armored vehicles for his private use, as he conducted his business of two or three monthly shipments of at least 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds) of marihuana.

The drug was taken from Sinaloa or Durango aboard Cesna planes, into Tijuana to be smuggled across the border.

His intricate network also moved an average of 250 kilos of methamphetamine known as “ice” brought up to Tijuana from Guadalajara and Michoacán, to be smuggled across the border to San Diego, Calexico and El Centro.

The cartel used stolen cars to commit their crimes, including kidnapping for ransom and drug robberies from rivals. To do it, they even had Barrette 50 caliber arms that can penetrate armored cars and even take down small planes.

The domino effect

The quiet operation surrounding “Muletas” arrest was the key to its success; there is such a level of corruption in Mexican forces, some sources in the Federal Police have said the agents who participated in this arrest (as well as Teo’s) were put on a plane without knowing their destination or who they would be arresting.

The military operation resulting in these arrests around 7:30 a.m. Monday (February 8 ) morning and just eight hours after, the military took to Tijuana streets and paralyzed major avenues in search of their accomplices.

Eleven people where arrested, five weapons, 4 bullet proof vests, 1400 rounds and 5 kilos of pot where seized.

Among those arrested are high ranking police officers; Macario Arturo Enríquez, Ramón Ángel Soto Corral, in charge of San Antonio de los Buenos police station; Juan Carlos Cruz Espinoza, in charge of Sanchez Taboada and Francisco Ortega Zamora, in charge of La Mesa.

They were arrested in the nice part of town, Las Américas, just blocks from the race track and the mayor’s house.

There, the military found two men who were being held against their will, apparently, the men belong to the rival cartel: The Arellano Felix gang whose head Luis Fernando Sánchez Arellano, a.k.a “El Ingeniero” is still on the run.

Baja governor José Guada-lupe  Osuna Millán, was quick to state “Baja California and Tijuana are at the forefront of police clean ups; just in the last two years 400 police officers have been removed from their posts and 120 of them face criminal charges for their dealings in support of organized crime”.

Tijuana mayor, Jorge Ramos added his part.

   “The fact is they are arresting this criminals in other cities like La Paz, all the way down South because Tijuana is no longer a safe heaven for them [to commit crimes], because of our efforts to stop them,” said Ramos.

Judging for the comments posted on news-sites, few Tijuana residents are convinced, and many question the so called “police clean up.”

The unrest comes in part because Cruz and Ortega, —both of them retired military officers, where appointed by retired military now head of Public Safety Julian Leyzaola, who in many occasions praised their good police work.

A news blogger under nickname “Sg72” posted at a news forum “Municipal police arrested? Oh it can’t be! they where hand picked, they are a good example according to our good for-nothing-Mayor.”

Another user, nicknamed “Eloysiller” also expressed this new distrust against military personnel turned civilians, and the media’s lack of criticism towards them: “Those who just got arrested where Leyzaola’s trusted men, how can the press have it? If it had been Hank’s men it would have made the NY Times… “chosen ones” my %$#… Frontera, Zeta, where are your investigations now?”