U.S. Wanted Leader Of Los Rojos Criminal Organization Arrested In Mexico

Suspect wanted for cocaine trafficking and smuggling into the U.S.

By H. Nelson Goodson

Hispanic News Network U.S.A.

October 7, 2015

Toluca, Mexico - The Mexican federal Attorney General's Office reported that Jesús Areli Navarrete Castelán, aka, "El Papayo," the leader of Los Rojos criminal organization was taken into custody by the Criminal Investigation Agency (AIC) and INTERPOL/Mexico in the municipality of Toluca in the state of Mexico. Castelán was indicted by a Tennessee federal court for drug trafficking, flight to avoid prosecution and importing cocaine into the U.S. in 2009. A Mexican federal court issued a warrant for his arrest in early 2015 and approved an extradition order to the U.S.

Los Rojos operate in the Mexican states of Guerrero and Morelos. The criminal group has been feuding with the Guerreros Unidos another criminal group responsible for the disappearance of 43 missing Ayotzinapa students in September 26, 2014 in Iguala.

Castelán was one of the most 10 wanted men in the U.S., since January 2011.