Alfredo Beltrán Leyva
Alfredo Beltrán Leyva (born January 21, 1971), commonly referred to by his alias El Mochomo (The Desert Ant), is a Mexican convicted drug lord and former leader of the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel, a drug trafficking organization. He was one of Mexico's most-wanted drug lords. Beltrán Leyva was responsible for smuggling multi-ton shipments of cocaine and methamphetamine to the United States from Mexico and South America between the 1990s and 2000s. He worked alongside his brothers Héctor, Carlos, and Arturo.
Alfredo Beltrán Leyva | |
|---|---|
Alfredo Beltrán Leyva | |
| Born | January 21, 1971 La Palma, Badiraguato, Sinaloa, Mexico |
| Other names | "El Mochomo" |
| Occupation | Drug lord |
| Employer(s) | Co-founder of Beltrán-Leyva Cartel and founder of Los Mazatlecos |
| Criminal status | Incarcerated |
| Conviction(s) | Conspiracy to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine, 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, 1 kilogram or more of heroin, and 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana (21 U.S.C. §§ 959, 960, and 963) |
| Criminal penalty | Life imprisonment without parole |
| Imprisoned at | ADX Florence |
In January 2008, Beltrán Leyva was arrested by the Mexican Army Special Forces in Culiacán, Sinaloa, and imprisoned at the Federal Social Readaptation Center No. 1, Mexico's maximum-security prison. He was extradited to the U.S. in November 2014 for drug trafficking charges. In April 2017, he was sentenced to life in prison and ordered to forfeit US$529 million to the U.S. government.