Pablo Edwin Huerta, ‘El Flaquito,’ Leader of the Tijuana Cartel Arrested

The Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime (FEMDO) of the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) has arrested Pablo Edwin Huerta Nuño, alias El Flaquito, considered the main leader of the Arellano Félix cartel in Mexico.

For years, Huerta Nuño managed to elude multiple assassination attempts, including one at a hospital where he even appeared dressed as a police officer.

According to the National Registry of Arrests, the arrest occurred at a home located on Fundadores Boulevard, on Cumbres de la Encantada Street, in Tijuana, Baja California.

He was arrested without incident when federal forces surrounded him after a search. According to military sources, Huerta Nuño has an extradition warrant, so he will be handed over to the appropriate authorities for transfer. El Flaquito is identified as the leader of a criminal cell involved in activities such as drug trafficking, extortion, and homicides.

His capture represents a significant blow to the structure of the Arellano Félix cartel, also known as the Tijuana Cartel.

Federal sources indicated that the FEMDO planned the operation based on intelligence obtained over months, which identified Huerta Nuño’s exact whereabouts.

With the fall of El Flaquito, authorities hope to dismantle the criminal cells he led and continue investigations into other members of the Arellano Félix cartel.

“El Cebollas,” the cartel’s second-in-command, was assassinated in February.

This operation represents a significant blow to the organization following the assassination, in February of this year, of his second-in-command and right-hand man Sebastián Moreno Olivares, known as El Cebollas.

Moreno Olivares was murdered in his own home, located at the Hipódromo, where he was celebrating his birthday.