Jose Antonio "El Marro" Yepez Ortiz was a Mexican drug lord and a leader of the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel. He was captured on 2 August 2020 during the Mexican Drug War.
Biography[]
Jose Antonio Yepez Ortiz was born in Guanajuato, Guanajuato, Mexico, and he became a known drug trafficker and car thief in 2010. He became a leader of the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel in his home state, and the military began a manhunt for him in January 2018. In 2019, he allied with the Gulf Cartel against the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, and, by June 2020, his cartel had lost a significant amount of land in Queretaro, Hidalgo, and even in his native state of Guanajuato. On 20 June 2020, his mother Maria Ortiz, his cousin Rosalba, his sister Juana Yepez, and 22 other CSRL associates were arrested in a raid on Celaya, Guanajuato; authorities confiscated 1 kilogram of methamphetamine, several cars, weapons, and ammunitions, and $89,000 of Maria Ortiz's money, and they accused the women of running the cartel's finances. El Marro swore vengeance against the government and the CJNG, and he posted social media videos thanking those who started tire fires to mask his escape and also considered allying with the Sinaloa Cartel. On 23 June, it was revealed that the CJNG had sent assassins to kill El Marro on many occasions, including at his sister's wedding earlier that year. On 2 August 2020, he was captured by state and federal authorities in Juventino Rosas, Guanajuato and taken to Altiplano prison.