Aurelio Cano Flores

Aurelio Cano Flores (born 3 May 1972), commonly referred to by his aliases Yankee and/or Yeyo, is an imprisoned Mexican drug trafficker and former high-ranking leader of the Gulf Cartel, a Mexican drug trafficking organization. He is also a former member of the Federal Judicial Police in Tamaulipas.

Aurelio Cano Flores
Born (1972-05-03) 3 May 1972
Tamaulipas, Mexico
Other namesYeyo
Yankee
Years active2001–2009
Known forDrug trafficking
Gulf Cartel leader
Criminal statusImprisoned
This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Cano and the second or maternal family name is Flores.

Born in the state of Tamaulipas, Cano Flores became a drug trafficker in 2001 while still serving as a police officer. His role in Mexican law enforcement and his ties with the Gulf Cartel allowed him to recruit several other policemen into the criminal organization's ranks. As a high-ranking leader, Cano Flores served as the regional boss of the Gulf Cartel in Los Guerra, a town in the municipality of Ciudad Miguel Alemán, Tamaulipas. He was also a leader in Camargo, Tamaulipas, where he coordinated heroin, cocaine, and marijuana shipments to the United States.

In 2010 he was named in a U.S. federal indictment with 19 other high-ranking drug lords of La Compañía (The Company), a name used to describe the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas as a conglomerate. He was arrested by the Mexican federal police on June 2009 and extradited to the United States while pending drug trafficking charges on 19 August 2011. Cano Flores was later sentenced to 35 years in prison and ordered to forfeit US$15 billion on 13 May 2013, making him "highest ranking Gulf Cartel member to be convicted by a U.S. jury in the past 15 years."[1]

Criminal career

Aurelio Cano Flores was born in Tamaulipas, Mexico on 3 May 1972.[2] He joined the Gulf Cartel, a Mexican drug trafficking organization, in 2001, while still working in the Federal Judicial Police. As a policeman, Cano Flores was able to recruit several of his colleagues to the Gulf Cartel, where they collected the organization's drug proceeds and protected the drug shipments that headed to the U.S.-Mexico border.[2][3][4] Within some time, he rose in the echelons of the cartel, became a high-ranking leader, and was appointed as the Gulf Cartel's boss in the border area of Los Guerra, a small town in the municipality of Ciudad Miguel Alemán, Tamaulipas, just across the international border from Roma, Texas.[1][5] While in power, Cano Flores also worked with Los Zetas, a criminal organization formed in the late 1990s by ex-commandos of the Mexican Army who served as the Gulf Cartel's paramilitary wing.[6][7] To keep the Gulf Cartel afloat, he reportedly intimidated and used violence against rival drug traffickers and Mexican law enforcement officers. Prior to his arrest on 10 June 2009, he was operating as the Gulf Cartel leader in Camargo, Tamaulipas and coordinated heroin, cocaine, and marijuana shipments to the United States.[8]

Arrest and trial

Cano Flores was arrested by the Mexican federal police on 10 June 2009 while in possession of a firearm, a magazine device, and 30 rounds of ammunition.[1][9][A 1] On 4 November 2010, he was indicted along with 19 other drug traffickers of La Compañía (The Company), a name that refers to the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas collectively, and charged with conspiracy to traffic over 5 kilos (11 lbs) of cocaine and at least 1,000 kilos (2204.6 lbs) of marijuana to the United States for future distribution. The United States Department of the Treasury had named Cano Flores in 2009 as a close associate of the Zeta bosses Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano and Miguel Treviño Morales, considered by the government as "significant foreign narcotics traffickers."[11][A 2]

He was then extradited to the United States from Mexico on 19 August 2011 to face charges on drug trafficking. At the time of his extradition, U.S. authorities indicated that he faced a minimum prison sentence of ten years and a maximum penalty of life in prison for his charges.[11] On 13 May 2013, U.S. District Judge Barbara Jacobs Rothstein sentenced Cano Flores to 35 years in prison and ordered him to forfeit US$15 billion.[13] He was the highest drug lord of the Gulf Cartel to be convicted by a U.S. jury in 15 years.[1]

Bounty

The U.S. Department of State was offering up to US$5 million for information leading to his arrest and/or conviction.[8] Cano Flores also has two aliases: Yeyo and Yankee.[2] Some media outlets also referred to him by another name, Efraín Sánchez Castillo.[10][14]

Kingpin Act sanction

On 24 March 2010, the United States Department of the Treasury sanctioned Cano Flores under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (sometimes referred to simply as the "Kingpin Act"), for his involvement in drug trafficking along with fifty-three other international criminals and ten foreign entities.[15] The act prohibited U.S. citizens and companies from doing any kind of business activity with him, and virtually froze all his assets in the U.S.[16]

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See also

Sources

Footnotes
  1. Other sources state that Cano Flores was arrested on 11 June 2009.[10]
  2. Though the United States Department of State indicated in a 2013 report that the indictment was issued on November 2010,[1] other sources state that the indictment was carried out in July 2009.[12]

References
  1. "High Ranking Gulf Cartel Member Sentenced in Washington, D.C., to 35 Years in Prison for Drug Trafficking". United States Department of Justice. 13 May 2013. Archived from the original on 30 June 2013. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  2. Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. "Narcotics Rewards Program: Aurelio Cano-Flores". United States Department of State. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
  3. "Condenan a 35 años a líder del cártel del Golfo en EU". Milenio (in Spanish). 13 May 2013. Archived from the original on 14 July 2013. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  4. Comisión de Derechos Humanos del Estado de Tamaulipas (1996). Defensor del Pueblo de la Nación: Quinto Informe Anual (in Spanish). Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas: La Comisión. p. 36. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  5. Frommer, Frederic J. (May 2013). "Gulf Cartel plaza boss gets 35 years in prison". The Monitor (Texas). Archived from the original on 30 June 2013. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  6. "High-Ranking Member of Mexican Gulf Cartel Extradited to the United States to Face Drug Conspiracy Charges". United States Department of Justice. 22 August 2011. Archived from the original on 13 January 2013. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  7. Ross, Monique (10 March 2012). "The drug lords behind Mexico's deadly turf war". ABC News (Australia). Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  8. "Mexican Gulf Cartel Kingpin Cano-Flores Extradited to USA". Latin American Herald Tribune. August 2011. Archived from the original on 14 July 2013. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  9. "Presunto narcotraficante mexicano afronta cargos en Estados Unidos". Terra Networks (in Spanish). 22 August 2011. Archived from the original on 14 July 2013. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  10. de la Luz González, María (16 June 2009). "Colaborador del cártel de Golfo es arraigado". El Universal (Mexico City) (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 19 June 2009. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  11. Seper, Jerry (23 August 2011). "Mexican cartel suspect sent to U.S." The Washington Times. Archived from the original on 19 September 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  12. Roebuck, Jeremy (4 July 2009). "Indictment describes shifts in Gulf-Zeta relationship". The Brownsville Herald. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  13. Frommer, Frederic J. (13 May 2013). "Drug cartel member sentenced to 35 years in prison". Yahoo News. Archived from the original on 14 July 2013. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  14. "Colaborador del cártel de Golfo es arraigado". El Siglo de Durango (in Spanish). 16 June 2009. Archived from the original on 22 June 2009. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  15. "DESIGNATIONS PURSUANT TO THE FOREIGN NARCOTICS KINGPIN DESIGNATION ACT" (PDF). United States Department of the Treasury. 15 May 2014. p. 11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 May 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  16. "An overview of the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act" (PDF). United States Department of the Treasury. 2009. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 May 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
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