11/8/11 – Juán Francisco Sillas Rocha, also known as “El Sillas,” was allegedly one of the top contributors to the Tijuana Cartel led by Luis Fernando Sánchez Arellano, also known as “El Ingeniero.” Sillas Rocha was arrested on the morning of November 5, by Mexican troops in Tijuana. According to Latino Fox News, the Secretary of National Defense (Secretaría de Seguridad Nacional) stated that “Sillas Rocha is considered one of Mexico’s ‘most violent (drug traffickers), responsible for a great many murders.” Three other men– Jesús Manuel Mariscal Ramírez (Lorenzo Ramirez Aispuro), Alejandro Sotelo Pineda, and Cristian Ezequiel Sotelo Rodríguez– were also arrested in Sillas Rocha’s capture.
From 2008-2010, Sillas Rocha was fulfilling orders from Sánchez Arellano to attack Teodoro García Simental, “El Teo,” and his Sinaloa Cartel. These attacks were directly related to the Sinaloa Cartel’s attempt to maintain control of the Tijuana-based drug operations, which the Tijuana Cartel, also known as the Arellano Felix organization, had previously controlled. García Simental had defected from the Tijuana Cartel to the Sinaloa Cartel and helped the latter in this fight for drug trafficking routes. El Teo was eventually arrested in January 2010.
According to La Prensa, Sedena also indicated that “there will be many effects directly connected to the arrest of Sillas Rocha in regards to the operation of the cartel and the hierarchy within it.”
Sources:
“Capturan a ‘El Sillas’ en operativo.” El Mexicano. November 5, 2011.
“Mexican troops arrest Tijuana cartel boss.” Fox News Latino. November 7, 2011.
“Cae grande de la droga.” La Prensa. November 8, 2011.
“Cae El Sillas, mano derecha de Fernando Arellano Félix.” Milenio. November 8, 2011.
