Within the ranks of La Mayiza, various lieutenants have had their moments in the spotlight. From the bloodthirsty brothers Javier and Manuel Torres Félix to the media-savvy Rodrigo Aréchiga—better known as Chino Ántrax—each lieutenant and head of security has been key to the disputes that this faction of the Sinaloa Cartel has faced throughout its existence.
After the fall of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, a generational shift arrived. His son, Ismael Zambada Sicairos, better known as “El Mayito Flaco,” took the reins of the criminal organization, and along with him rose a head of security who quickly gained prominence after the outbreak of the conflict against the heirs of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.
His name is Carlos Alberto Páez Pereda, though in Sinaloa’s underworld he’s better known as Carlitos Rugrats. This lieutenant recently garnered media attention after a video surfaced allegedly showing him eating at a restaurant somewhere in Sinaloa.
The brief video shows a man carrying a handgun in his waistband, whose physical appearance resembles that of the man featured in wanted posters released by law enforcement agencies. While authorities will confirm—or deny—the authenticity of the recording, the possibility that it might be a public appearance by Carlitos Rugrats quickly raised concerns, both due to his extensive criminal record and the role he has played in the drug war that Los Mayos and Los Chapitos have been waging since September 2014. The circumstances under which Carlos Alberto Páez Pereda joined the ranks of Los Mayos are unclear; however, what is certain is that, as head of security, he leads a violent group of gunmen who call themselves Los Rugrats and whose base of operations is in Laguna Colorada, Sinaloa.
“They’re not cartoons, they’re all guns blazing, riding around the ranches with gadgets, and you see the Rugrats over there in La Laguna. Well-equipped with weapons and radios, those guys are tough […] And you can see their level, they’re C’s people. Ismael’s structure, so you know. You see La Mayiza or La Sombreriza,” can be heard throughout a narcocorrido performed by the group Otro Nivel.
The content of this controversial song led the Security Cabinet to identify Carlitos Rugrats as a second-level operator within the structure of this faction of the Sinaloa Cartel. Páez Pereda is second only to Ismael Zambada Sicairos, El Mayito Flaco, and at the same level as other criminal leaders who, like him, are also fugitives, such as Samuel León Alvarado -alias El León- and Joel Enrique Sandoval Romero -El 19-.
