Cartels are enlisting ruthless female assassins to strengthen their forces in a brutal effort to eliminate rivals and control the drug trade.
One of the most infamous figures is Juana N, also known as La Peque, who swiftly climbed the ranks within the Mexican Los Zetas cartel from a challenging background into an enforcement position.
Hailing from Hidalgo, Juana faced early motherhood at 15 and grappled with financial hardships. Turning to sex work due to limited opportunities, she eventually crossed paths with criminal organizations.
Through these connections, she was recruited by Los Zetas, initially serving as an informant. Allegedly involved in heinous acts like decapitations and mutilations, she recounted spending hours on surveillance duty, facing punishment for failures.
In a chilling prison interview, Juana claimed to bathe in victims’ blood, drink it warm, and engage in disturbing acts with corpses. She currently awaits sentencing for her gruesome deeds.
Beyond Los Zetas, other gangs also feature unrelenting female members. Claudia Ochoa Félix, known as the ‘Kim Kardashian of organized crime,’ operated with the Sinaloa Cartel and its enforcer division, Los Antrax.
Félix, associated with luxury items and weaponry on social media, was married to drug trafficker Jose Gamboa, a former leader of Los Antrax. Following his arrest, she reportedly led the lethal hit squad, marked by diamond-adorned skull rings and brutal tactics.
In a violent clash with Mexican soldiers in southern Culiacan, the gang uncovered mutilated kidnapping victims in a safe house, reflecting their ruthless methods. Post the assassination of ex-leader Francisco Arce Rubio, they executed 20 murders in Sinaloa, including brutal public displays of violence.
Maria Guadalupe López Esquivel, known as “La Catrina,” emerged as a feared assassin for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), overseeing a team of killers targeting rivals and law enforcement.
In a tragic turn, her reign of terror ended in a shootout near Mexico City in 2020, where she succumbed to a gunshot wound to the neck. Bodycam footage captured her final moments as she struggled for breath before passing away on a helicopter en route to a military hospital.