Sinaloa Cartel Member 'Chous,' Ex-Cop Who Worked for Mexican Drug Lord El Mayo, Gets Life in Prison

A former police officer in Mexico was sentenced to life in prison by a federal judge in Texas on Thursday for his role in the Sinaloa Cartel under Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada.

Court documents showed that Arturo Shows Urquidi, 50, also known as "Chous," was convicted on several drug trafficking, weapon, and money laundering charges.

KFOX 14 reported that Urquidi is a former police officer of Chihuahua state in Mexico and a long-time member of the Sinaloa Cartel.

In a statement, the U.S. Attorney's Office Western District of Texas said Urquidi allegedly assisted in the security of stash houses where thousands of kilos of cocaine were unloaded from tanker trucks and then reloaded with weapons and money returning to Culiacan in Sinaloa, Mexico.

With the former policeman's involvement, the Sinaloa Cartel successfully imported thousands of kilos of cocaine, worth over $1 billion, into the U.S.

In October 2021, a federal jury in El Paso, Texas convicted Urquidi of one count of conspiracy to violate the Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organization statute (RICO) for his role as a Sinaloa Cartel member; conspiracy to import cocaine and marijuana; conspiracy to possess cocaine and marijuana; conspiracy to launder money; and conspiracy to possess firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes.

Co-Defendant of Sinaloa Cartel Member 'Chous' Is Also Convicted

Arturo Shows Urquidi's co-defendant Mario Iglesias-Villegas, alias "Grim Reaper," was also found guilty of five counts of violent crimes in aid of racketeering activity; conspiracy to kill in a foreign country; and kidnapping.

Iglesias-Villegas reportedly joined the Sinaloa Cartel in 2008, when the group was led by the notorious drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Loera. He was the head of a group of Sinaloa Cartel sicarios or assassins until his arrest in 2012.

Iglesias-Villegas' presence has allowed the Sinaloa Cartel to control the drug corridor in Juarez, leading to the successful import of cocaine and marijuana into the U.S. He is scheduled for sentencing on March 24.

Chous and Grim Reaper were among 24 alleged Sinaloa Cartel members indicted in 2012 over their roles in the group. The other defendants included El Chapo and El Mayo, who allegedly took over the Mexican drug cartel after El Chapo was arrested in Mexico in 2016.

According to the Attorney's Office Western District of Texas, the Sinaloa Cartel's criminal activity in the Ciudad Juarez and El Paso area included the violence that occurred during the war between Sinaloa Cartel and Juarez Cartel.

It led to the death of thousands of people in Ciudad Juarez and throughout Mexico's states of Chihuahua and Durango. The violence gave rise to Ciudad Juarez being named the "deadliest city in the world."

U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff said Arturo Shows Urquidi's sentence was "a significant step in holding the members of the Sinaloa Cartel accountable for the crimes they have committed for years."

El Mayo and El Chapo of Sinaloa Cartel

The Sinaloa Cartel is one of Mexico's largest and most powerful drug trafficking organizations. The Mexican drug cartel has been known to carry out assassinations, murders, and torture to protect its turf.

Both El Chapo and El Mayo were among the people who established the Sinaloa Cartel from the remnants of the Guadalajara Cartel after its leader Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo was arrested in 1989.

El Mayo was reportedly left in command of the Sinaloa Cartel after the drug kingpin was arrested and extradited in the U.S.

The U.S. State Department said El Mayo also has wide real estate holdings and has invested in multiple businesses in Mexico. The department has already increased its offer from $5 million to $15 million for information that will result in the arrest of El Mayo.

A federal court found El Chapo guilty of drug trafficking, money laundering, murder conspiracy, and use of a gun in crimes involving drugs. He was sentenced to spend the rest of his days in the ADX Florence "supermax" prison after being sentenced to life imprisonment in 2019.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

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