When a high-ranking cartel member accused of murder plots in a wealthy US suburbs were extradited to the US in late February, cartel operations experts warn that ordinary Americans could be caught up in a crossfire of a Mexican cartel feud.
According to the Department of Justice, Jose Rodolfo Villarreal Hernandez, known as “Elgato,” was brought to the United States to face justice due to the orchestration of a murder that took place in May 2013 in South Lake, a wealthy community outside of Dallas, Texas.
Villarreal Hernandez, a Mexican national and former leader of the Bertrand Riva Organization (BLO) drug cartel, and hired Cartel Goon, starred and killed Juan Jesus Guerrero Chapa, a lawyer representing the rival Gulf Cartel and a US government informant.
Guerrerochapa was shot in a daytime shooting at a busy South Lake shopping center, with him and his wife returning to their car.
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Jose Rodolfo Villarreal Hernandez is accused of interstate stalking and conspiracy to commit employment plans for the murderer, which killed a 43-year-old man in May 2013. (FBI)
Killing in American communities such as Southlake shows that ordinary Americans should be more vigilant, both in everyday life and online, as cartel members are increasingly embedded in communities across the United States, experts say.
“The answer is yes, the cartel has definitely invaded the United States,” Jarrod Sadulski, owner of Sadulski Enterprises, told Fox News Digital.
Sadulski has extensive experience in human trafficking, counter-terrorism and homeland security, and worked for the Department of Homeland Security through the Coast Guard for 26 years.
“Therefore, due to the open borders of the past four years, there are exponentially many criminal bad actors in the US, including members of the cartel.
Mexico will hand over to us dozens of cartel leaders and members, including Dr. Rafael Caro Quintero.
Juan Jesus Jesus Jesus Guerrero Chapa, a Gulf Cartel leader and a private lawyer for government informants, was fatally injured on May 22, 2013 after he and his wife were ambushed while sitting on a Range Rover in South Lake Town Square, authorities said. (via Images via Fort Worth Star-Telegram Archive/Tribune News Service)
Ali Hopper works with Sadulski and is also the founder of a nonprofit called Guard against human trafficking. Both testify before Congress about research and expertise in Mexican drug cartels.
Hopper said young new groups like Tren de Aragua and its members are far more violent than their cartel predecessors.
“They operate with immunity,” she said. “They don't respect life, whether it's an adult or a child's life. And they deal with anything that makes the fastest money. And new security guards are virtually free of structure.
The pair also pointed out that the cartel members are working harder. Some have stopped identifying tattoos used to simplify law enforcement targets. Many have started legal businesses in the US and have gone through money.
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Mexican Marines seized RPG-7 rocket launchers, hand-grips, firearms, cocaine and military uniforms from suspects allegedly members of the Zeta drug cartel. (Yuri Cortez/AFP via Getty Images)
Villarreal Hernandez blamed Guerrero Chapa for his father's death.
After spending more than two years on the FBI's 10 most wanted fugitive list, Villarreal Hernandez was captured in 2023 by Mexican authorities in Atizapánde Zaragoza, Mexico.
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He is currently on trial for interstate stalking and murderer employment charges, which means he is owed the greatest life sentence for prison or death.
