Fausto Isidro Meza Flores, known as “El Chapo Isidro,” is one of the last high-ranking drug traffickers who remains at large. The inception of his criminal activities dates back to the 1990s—a period during which Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán and Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada also rose to prominence.
According to journalist Jesús Lemus Barajas, Isidro Meza became involved in drug trafficking when he was between ten and eleven years old, serving as a lookout for the Juárez Cartel—an organization led by Amado Carrillo Fuentes.
After joining a criminal group headed by Aureliano Guzmán Loera and his half-brother, Ernesto Guzmán Hidalgo, “El Chapo Isidro” decided to break away from the cartels following the murder of the latter—who had served as his mentor. Consequently, he began directing his operations in alliance with the Beltrán Leyva Cartel.
Upon separating from these established criminal groups, Meza Flores formed his own cell, known as “Los Mazatlecos.” The group derived its name from the fact that Mazatlán had previously been assigned to Ernesto Guzmán as his designated territory of control.
