Murder of Top Drug Lord’s Nephew Shakes Up Sinaloa Cartel

The murder of a top operator within a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel is sending shockwaves throughout Mexico. While the masterminds behind the murder remain unknown, the killing is expected to lead to violent consequences.

This week, a group of gunmen shot and killed Eliseo “Cheyo Antrax” Imperial Castro as he was driving along a highway near the south side of Culiacan, Sinaloa. While Mexican authorities have kept much of the information about the incident quiet, it is believed that Imperial was driving a Chevrolet Colorado when the gunmen intercepted him and began firing numerous times into the vehicle with rifles killing. He died at the scene.

The murder sent shockwaves through western Mexico since Imperial is one of the leaders of the Antrax cell of the Sinaloa Cartel and a nephew of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada — one of the top leaders of the organization. In 2016, the U.S. Department of Justice identified El Chayo as one of the top operators within the Sinaloa Cartel and a close ally of his uncle and charged him with several indictments on various drug trafficking charges.

The Sinaloa Cartel is divided into two main factions, with El Mayo leading one faction and Los Chapitos leading the other. Los Chapitos is the name given to the sons of Joaquin El Chapo Guzman, who inherited their father’s organization following his arrest and extradition to the U.S. El Chapo is serving a life sentence in a U.S. federal prison. The faction known as Los Chapitos has drawn much attention in recent years after U.S. authorities identified them as the main producers and importers of fentanyl in Mexico.  Los Chapitos also sparked controversy by creating tension with the Zambada faction.

Authorities have not revealed who is behind the murder. However, the killing is expected to lead to violent consequences whether it came from inside the Sinaloa Cartel, such as from Los Chapito, another smaller faction, or an outside enemy such as Cartel Jalisco New Generation or even another drug cartel.

A new internal struggle could lead to yet another dramatic rise in violence at a time when the Mexican government’s hands-off approach to drug cartels has already led to record-setting levels of violence and operational impunity.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..