Mexico Confiscates 10 Tigers, 5 Lions in Town Dominated by Mexican Drug Cartel

The government of Mexico seized on Saturday a collection of exotic animals in a town dominated by a Mexican drug cartel. CBS News reported that the animals detained included 10 tigers, five lions, and six jaguars.

The announcement came a few days after U.S. prosecutors revealed that a Sinaloa Cartel boss fed his enemies alive and dead to tigers he kept.

Mexican authorities did not release the identity of the owner of the exotic animals in the western state of Jalisco, the turf of the notorious Jalisco cartel.

Aside from wild cats, government agents of Mexico also found antelopes, a Llama, deer, and birds at the property in La Barca, Jalisco. The town has reportedly been the scene of mass graves and drug cartel executions over the past years.

The animals were kept in stalls, pens, and cages over a wide area. However, it was not clear why the animals were being kept. U.S. prosecutors previously revealed how some Mexican drug cartels' key figures would keep wild animals such as tigers as their pets.

An indictment sealed on April 14 in the New York Southern District revealed that the Sinaloa Cartel and its associates would use the animals to feed many of their victims, dead or alive, to the tigers kept by Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar and Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar, the sons of former Sinaloa Cartel boss Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Loera.

Sinaloa Cartel of Mexico Feeding Victims to Tigers

The recent indictment accused 28 Sinaloa Cartel members and leaders of running "the largest, most violent," and most lucrative fentanyl trafficking operation globally.

The indictment also revealed that Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar and Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar, with their henchmen, have been imposing torture sessions, which included waterboarding and electric shock, the New York Post reported.

Sinaloa Cartel's "ninis," a violent group of sicarios," or hitmen, carry out the torture sessions, with some victims getting shot and dying quickly, while others were fed to tigers that Ivan and Jesus Alfredo kept as pets.

The U.S. State Department has already offered $10 million rewards for any information that could help federal agents arrest El Chapo's three sons.

Four of El Chapos's sons - Ivan, Jesus Alfredo, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, and Ovidio Guzman Lopez, who was recently arrested - are collectively known as "Los Chapitos."

A source said people would walk across the street in Sinaloa and they would find black bags with bodies left on the road. The indictment further noted that one of the ninis used a corkscrew to rip out a Mexican law enforcement officer's muscle, then poured "hot chiles in his open wounds and nose."

Earlier this month, a Mexican drug cartel left their leader's vehicle in the middle of the road after a gunfight, with a Bengal tiger sitting at the back of the truck.

Metro reported that the tiger was taken into custody, delivered to Culiacan Zoo, and later transported to the nearby Ostok animal shelter.

Mexico Drug Kingpins and Wild Animals

In 2011, Al Jazeera reported that Mexican drug kingpins having private zoos had become prevalent. Adrian Reuter, an expert on the animal trade with the World Wildlife Fund in Mexico, noted that it was an "ongoing occurring in Mexico."

Reuter told Al Jazeera that drug kingpins like "charismatic animals" that signify power and strength. It was earlier reported that more than 5,500 illegal animals and plants were seized in Mexico in July 2011.

Colombian drug trafficker Pablo Escobar also had a collection of animals on his own ranch during his reign. His collection included hippos, which have become a threat to Colombia's biodiversity.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

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