Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo

Born on a ranch in Bellavista, on the outskirts of Culiacán, Sinaloa, Félix Gallardo graduated from high school and studied business in college. He took a job as a Mexican Federal Judicial Police agent. He worked as a family bodyguard for the governor of Sinaloa state Leopoldo Sánchez Celis, whose political connections helped Félix Gallardo build his drug trafficking organization. He was also the godfather of Sánchez Celis' son, Rodolfo. Félix Gallardo started working for drug traffickers by brokering corruption of state officials, and together with Rafael Caro Quintero and Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo, who had previously worked in the Avilés criminal organization, took control of the trafficking routes after Avilés was killed in a police shootout. ==Connections to Colombian cartels==

In the early 1980s, drug interdiction efforts increased throughout Florida, which was then the major shipping destination for illegal drug traffickers. As a result, the Colombian cartels began to utilize Mexico as their primary trans-shipment point. Juan Matta-Ballesteros was the Guadalajara Cartel's primary connection to the Colombian cartels, as he had originally introduced Félix Gallardo's predecessor, Alberto Sicilia Falcón, to Santiago Ocampo of the Cali Cartel, one of the largest Colombian drug cartels. Rather than taking cash payments for their services, the smugglers in the Guadalajara Cartel took a 50% cut of the cocaine they transported from Colombia. ==Murder of DEA agent Kiki Camarena==

In 1980, DEA special agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena was assigned to the Administration's resident agency in Guadalajara. Working through informants, Camarena discovered cartel marijuana plantations in Zacatecas state. The plantations were raided and destroyed. In 1984, Mexican soldiers, backed by helicopters, destroyed an even larger marijuana plantation known as "Rancho Búfalo" in Chihuahua, known to be protected by Mexican DFS intelligence agents, as part of "Operation Godfather". Thousands of farmers worked the fields at Rancho Búfalo, and the annual production was later valued at 8 billion. All of this took place with the knowledge of local police, politicians, and the military. Camarena was beginning to expose the connections among drug traffickers, Mexican law enforcement, and high-ranking government officials within the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI), which Félix Gallardo considered to be a major threat to the Guadalajara cartel's operations throughout Mexico. after which, on February9, Camarena was executed. Autopsy results indicated that he died after his skull was perforated with a drill. He was injected with adrenaline and other stimulant drugs so as to be kept awake and to avoid his losing consciousness during his torture and interrogation. His body, wrapped in plastic, was found with that of pilot Alfredo Zavala Avelar, in a shallow hole on a ranch in Michoacan state. A special unit was dispatched to coordinate the investigation in Mexico, where corrupt officials were being implicated. Investigators identified Félix Gallardo and his two close associates, Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo and Rafael Caro Quintero, as the primary suspects behind the kidnapping. Under pressure from the US, Fonseca and Quintero were apprehended, but Félix Gallardo still enjoyed political protection. ==Arrest==

Félix Gallardo kept a low profile and, in 1987, moved with his family to Guadalajara. He was arrested in Mexico on April 8, 1989, and was charged by the authorities in Mexico and the United States with the kidnapping and murder of DEA agent Enrique Camarena, as well as racketeering, drug smuggling, and multiple violent crimes. According to US officials, Félix Gallardo also spent time at the Sinaloa governor's house as a guest, which governor Antonio Toledo Corro had denied. When asked about his association with Félix Gallardo, governor Toledo said he was "unaware of any outstanding arrest warrants" against Félix Gallardo. The arrest of Félix Gallardo was the catalyst for exposing the widespread corruption at political and law enforcement levels in Mexico. Within days of Félix Gallardo's arrest, and under pressure from the media, several police commanders were arrested with as many as 90 officers deserting. Félix Gallardo's arrest also led to the dismantling of the Guadalajara Cartel, as key members of the federation chose to withdraw and form their own cartels, relying on violence to claim various territories and trafficking routes. The continuous disputes and conflict among the leaders would breed political, social, and military chaos, and eventually lead to the Mexican drug war. ==Incarceration==

Félix Gallardo was initially sentenced to 40 years of prison. After serving 28 years, a 2017 trial sentenced him to an additional 37 years. While incarcerated, Félix Gallardo remained one of Mexico's major traffickers, maintaining his organization via mobile phone. After his arrest, Félix Gallardo decided to divide up the trade he controlled as it would be more efficient and less likely to be brought down by law enforcement. Félix Gallardo instructed his lawyer to convene the nation's top drug narcos in 1989 at a house in the resort of Acapulco where he designated the plazas or territories. The Tijuana route would go to his nephews, the Arellano Felix brothers. The Ciudad Juárez route would go to the Carrillo Fuentes family. When Félix Gallardo was transferred to a high-security prison in 1993, he lost any remaining control over the other drug lords. As he aged, Félix Gallardo complained that he lived in poor conditions while in jail. He says that he has vertigo, deafness, loss of an eye, and blood circulation problems. He lived in a cell which he was not allowed to leave, even to use the recreational area. In March 2013, Félix Gallardo started a legal process to continue his prison sentence at home when he reached his 70th birthday (8 January 2016). On 29 April 2014, a Mexican federal court denied Félix Gallardo's petition to be transferred from the maximum-security prison to a medium-security one. On 18 December 2014, federal authorities approved his request to transfer to a medium-security prison in Guadalajara (State of Jalisco), due to his declining health. On 20 February 2019, a court in Mexico City denied his request to complete the remainder of his sentence under house arrest. The court stated that Félix Gallardo's defense did not provide them with sufficient evidence to prove that his health issues were putting his life at risk. On September 12, 2022, it was reported that Félix Gallardo had been granted house arrest and would be moved on September 13, 2022. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador released a statement about his transfer. "I do not want anyone to suffer. I do not want anyone to be in jail." ==Memoirs==

In 2008, the investigative journalist Diego Enrique Osorno was able to contact Félix Gallardo through the latter's 13-year-old son. Félix Gallardo secretly wrote about his life and passed the hand-written notes to Osorno. The memoirs include narrative about his arrest and presentation before police, and explains a bit of his family tree, jumping from one topic to another. Selections of the 35 pages were published in the Mexican magazine Gatopardo, with background by the journalist. ==Family==

Upon Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo's arrest at least nine of his nieces and nephews took over different roles within the organization, thus forming the Arellano Félix Organization, also known as the Tijuana Cartel. Members of the Arellano Félix Organization (Tijuana Cartel) • Alicia Arellano Félix is his niece. • Benjamín Arellano Félix (Incarcerated), a member and former leader of the Arellano Félix Organization, is his nephew. • Carlos Arellano Félix is his nephew. • Francisco Javier Arellano Félix (Incarcerated) is his nephew. ==In popular culture==

• In second season of the Colombian TV Series El cartel, Félix Gallardo is portrayed by the Mexican actor as the character of 'El Golfo'. • In TV Series Alias El Mexicano, he is portrayed by the Mexican actor . • In the Netflix series, Narcos: Mexico, Félix Gallardo is portrayed by Mexican actor Diego Luna • A character based on Gallardo is featured briefly in the 2017 television series El Chapo. ==See also==