| Founded | 1987 by Amado Carrillo Fuentes and Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo |
|---|---|
| In | Ciudad Juárez, Mexico |
| Territory | In the United States: Texas |
| Ethnicity | Mexican |
| Criminal activities | Drug trafficking, people smuggling, money laundering, extortion, kidnapping, racketeering, murder, arms trafficking, terrorism, robbery, assault, rape, bribery, prostitution, counterfeiting, coercion, fencing, mayhem, burglary, police impersonation[1] |
| Allies | Juárez Cartel, Los Zetas, Beltrán-Leyva Cartel, Tijuana Cartel |
| Rivals | Gulf Cartel, Sinaloa Cartel, La Familia Cartel |
La Línea ("The Line") is a group of Mexican drug traffickers and corrupt Juárez and Chihuahua state police officers who work as the armed wing of the Juárez Cartel, which controls one of the primary transportation routes for billions of dollars worth of illegal drug shipments annually entering the United States from Mexico. About 70% of the cocaine that reaches the United States flows through the El Paso–Juárez border.[2][3]
La Línea is a ruthless gang that has been known to decapitate their rivals, mutilate their corpses and dispose of them in public to instill fear, not only in the general public, but also in local law enforcement and their rivals.[3][4]
On January 30, 2010, about 12 gunmen (sicarios, Spanish for hitman) from La Línea attacked a high school birthday party with AK-47 assault rifles, killing 16 teenagers and wounding 14.[5] Apparently, they thought one of the students may have been an informant.[6]
On July 16, 2010, La Linea set up a car bomb ambush in Ciudad Juárez which killed two soldiers, a police officer and a medic.[1] Initially it was believed that C-4 explosives were used. Upon further investigation by authorities, with U.S. help, it was concluded that an industrial explosive named Tovex was used.[2]
Mexican authorities believe that Juárez cartel lieutenant José Luis Fratello is the operative leader of La Línea.[7] Another operative is Benjamin "Cachitas" Valerano; he is still active and believed to live in Chihuahua, Chihuahua.[8] José Antonio Acosta Hernández, better known as "El Diego," top lieutenant of La Línea in the state of Chihuahua, was captured in a federal police operation on July 28, 2011;[9] there was a $15 million peso ($1.2 million USD) reward in Mexico and a $5 million USD in U.S.A. for information leading to his capture.[10]
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