Drug trafficking
Women of the Cartels: The tragic fate of Mexican drug traffickers' girlfriends
The glamorous young women may have inadvertently attracted too much attention after sharing photos of their jewelry, late-model cars and exotic travel on social media platforms
January 7, 2022 2:49pm
Updated: January 10, 2022 8:27am
Social media isn’t just getting cheating spouses into trouble these days.
A recent string of arrests and media reports suggest the bold and beautiful girlfriends of some Mexico City-based cartel drug-lords may have attracted some unwanted attention, possibly from law enforcement after flaunting their taste of the good life.
In addition to posting pictures of their exotic travels, the young trophy girlfriends have given the public a rare glimpse into the day-to-day lifestyle of cartel living by sharing photos of their jewelry, late-model cars and even plastic surgeries.
Most of the women have been romantically involved with members of La Unión Tepito, widely hailed as the most dangerous criminal organization operating in Mexico City.
PRESAS o MUERTAS… LAS NOVIAS de LA UNIÓN
— Carlos Jiménez (@c4jimenez) January 5, 2022
-Mitzy Navarro: presa
-Valeria Diaz: ejecutada
-Nalliby Mustafa: acribillada
-Gaby Castillo: presa
Lucían su vida de lujos pagada por sus novios criminales.
Hoy están en los archivos de @FiscaliaCDMX
Sus historias 6:30 en @telediario pic.twitter.com/0aBrWdthCu
The most recent known case was Gaby Castillo’s, the girlfriend of Oscar Flores 'El Lunares', the imprisoned leader of La Unión Tepito. While she maintained her romantic relationship with the capo, Gaby made appearances on Mexican television programs in México and even tried her luck start a musical career as a reggaeton singer.
In recent years she also promoted herself as a “companion,” a lucrative job with added benefits that allowed her to trade drugs in affluent, wealthy areas of town. But Gaby’s days with the rich and famous may have come to an end. The 26-year-old was arrested on Monday on charges of fraud and drug sales.
In June, Paulina Arreola Pérez, a member of an inner circle of cartel girlfriends known as “Las Novias de La Unión,” was shot to death in the streets near the District of Benito Juárez, the mayor of Mexico City.
Paulina was a partner of another member La Unión Tepito member, Alexis Martínez Martínez, also known as 'El Alexis', who was murdered in early 2021 in Jalisco.
On her Instagram account, Paulina boasted of her travels around the world, having vacationed in places such as Canada, Turkey and even Dubai. According to Mexican reporter Carlos Jiménez, some of these trips were paid for with counterfeit credit cards.
She also used to go out to bars and nightclubs with friends like Valeria Diaz, murdered a year earlier while traveling in a car through the district of Venustiano Carranza. The 28-year-old was accompanied by 17-year-old Britllit Pérez López, who also died after being shot to death at least five times by two men who fled the scene on a motorcycle.
BALEAN a OTRA de LAS NOVIAS de LA UNIÓN
— Carlos Jiménez (@c4jimenez) June 10, 2021
Es Paulina Arreola fue novia de El Alexis
Hombres en moto le dispararon cuando conducía esta camioneta por @BJAlcaldia.
La @SSC_CDMX y @FiscaliaCDMX rastrean a los agresores.
La historia este jueves en https://t.co/vQkLajtkRs pic.twitter.com/GeGn7cZ9P3
In March 2019, Valeria was detained by Mexican Federal Police agents while accompanying ‘El Alexis.’ Despite being transferred to the custody of the Attorney General's Office, she was released two days later.
Last September, 26-year old Mitzi Navarro was arrested with her mother, for allegedly selling and carrying drugs.
Mitzi was allegedly a romantic partner of Eduardo Ramírez Tiburcio, 'El Chori', the current leader of La Unión Tepito, who is wanted by the Mexico City authorities in the nation’s capital.
Through her social media platforms, she shared all of her trips and luxury good purchases, never hesitating to show off what restaurants the two dined at and what exotic cars they were driving.
Upon their capture, police recovered “129 plastic bags with marijuana, 200 paper wrappers sealed with powder with the characteristics of cocaine, a bag with 300g of crack and a firearm.”
On Saturday, Ivon Macedo Barron, the 32-year-old girlfriend of 28-year old Fernando Lince, also known as ‘El Chato’ was arrested with her partner while distributing drugs. Lince, who is one of the infamous Beltrán Leyva brothers who ran a drug cartel and organized crime syndicate focused on dealing drugs in Mexico City nightclubs.
