Over the years, the criminal organization La Unión Tepito has had various leaders, from Francisco Javier Hernández Gómez, El Pancho Cayagua; through Roberto ‘N’, El Betito, and Ricardo ‘N’, El Moco; to the most recent, Jonathan Irving ‘N’, El Irving, all of whom have been killed or are in prison.
This raises the question of who the current leader of the criminal organization operating in Mexico City is.
Among the many criminal profiles linked to this group, that of Renat ‘N’, El Daza, stands out. He allegedly acts as a liaison between El Betito—who is imprisoned—and the members of La Unión Tepito. Since last year, journalist and host of the program C4 en Alerta, Carlos Jiménez, identified an armed wing of La Unión Tepito—comprised mainly of minors—called La UJ-40, which allegedly operates under the orders of El Betito through El Daza.
This was revealed by the source after the arrest of Johan ‘N’, the alleged leader of La UJ-40, who reportedly confessed that he and his alleged hitmen receive orders from El Betito in prison through one of his most trusted men: Renat Dassae Esparza Vera, alias El Daza or El Dassa.
C4 Jiménez reported that El Betito continues to oversee the illicit activities of La Unión Tepito through phone calls with El Daza, a man linked to the criminal organization since 2021.
Although Renat ‘N’ has been considered a high-ranking operative for several years, his influence within La Unión Tepito has grown. In 2022, he was identified as the leader of a cell involved in extorting businesses in the Historic Center, and has now allegedly been in charge of supervising drug storage and manufacturing.
Renat ‘N’ has always been linked to the sale and distribution of illicit substances in Mexico City, and is also suspected of orchestrating several homicides. This year, authorities discovered a property connected to him where chemical drugs were stored and allegedly manufactured on-site.
On the night of Wednesday, January 14, Mexico City authorities raided a property in the Cuauhtémoc borough, linked to the illicit activities of El Daza. There, they seized a handgun, a magazine, 17 rounds of ammunition, a clear container of marijuana, 53 cigarettes, three bags, and three glass containers also containing marijuana.
They also found 99 small bags in red, yellow, and blue containing a crystalline solid substance, and 59 square and round tablets in white, pink, and yellow, resembling methamphetamine.
For its part, C4 Jiménez revealed that the location also allegedly contained wax—a highly concentrated cannabis extract—and that the property was supposedly used for drug production.
El Daza was also long considered the right-hand man of José Mauricio ‘N’, alias El Tomate, another of the main leaders of La Unión Tepito, who is also currently in custody.
