Los Rojos
Los Rojos (2021) | |
| Founded | 1990s by Osiel Cárdenas Guillén |
|---|---|
| Founding location | Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico |
| Years active | 1990s–present |
| Territory | Tamaulipas, Morelos, Puebla, Guerrero |
| Ethnicity | Mexican |
| Leader(s) | Zenen Nava Sánchez |
| Activities | Murder, kidnapping |
| Allies | Gulf Cartel Los Mexicles Sureños Mexican Mafia Sinaloa Cartel |
| Rivals | Los Metros Los Zetas MS-13 Los Negros Jalisco New Generation Cartel Beltrán-Leyva Cartel Los Ardillos Guerreros Unidos |
Los Rojos is a faction of a Mexican drug trafficking organization known as the Gulf Cartel. The group was formed in the late 1990s during the reign of Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, the former leader of the cartel, to provide security to the organization's leaders as the cartel's armed wing.
The current leader of Los Rojos is Juan Mejía González, alias El R1. On 2 September 2011, Mejía González and Rafael Cárdenas Vela, two leaders of the Rojos, ordered the assassination of the drug lord Samuel Flores Borrego, who commanded the Metros, another faction within the Gulf cartel.
The death of Flores Borrego triggered a series of confrontations between the Rojos and the Metros throughout the end of 2011. Nonetheless, in early 2012, the Metros emerged victorious in the infighting and have relegated the Rojos to a less-powerful position in the cartel operatives.