Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo

Passions

Commonly referred to by his alias El Padrino ("The Godfather"), is a convicted Mexican drug lord who formed the Guadalajara Cartel in the 1980s, and controlled almost all of the drug trafficking in Mexico and the corridors along the Mexico–United States border. Gallardo's drug trafficking network was protected by his many high-level government connections, especially those within the Dirección Federal de Seguridad (DFS) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Gallardo was considered an asset by the CIA, due to the financial and material assistance he provided to the Contras in Nicaragua. Gallardo's cartel was linked to the Colombian cartels primarily through the Honduran drug trafficker Juan Matta-Ballesteros (also a CIA asset and Contra supporter). Gallardo, Matta, and Santiago Ocampo of the Cali Cartel together headed the largest cocaine ring in the world at that time, and had no competitors of comparable size. Ultimately, Gallardo was arrested for the murder of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent Enrique Camarena, who was tortured to death on one of Gallardo's ranches. He is now serving a 40-year sentence in the maximum security prison known as Altiplano. Link to Wikipedia biography