аÄÃÅ¿ª½±½á¹û

10 Most Gruesome Murders Committed By Drug Cartels

Drug Cartels are among the most feared and violent crime groups in the world. The ways of life for drug cartels and their members are usually filled with bloodshed and other forms of crime. These groups are ruled by greedy and power-thirst leaders who can do anything and everything to cement their superiority.

Drug Cartels are also obsessed with power, greed and impunity reign supreme. They order violent crimes like massacres, kidnappings, and numerous homicides which send fear to those who are against them. Countries like Colombia and Mexico where there are several drug cartels have experienced numerous negative impacts of these miscreants.

There have been several murders that have been committed under the orders of these drug cartels. These murders are carried out by hired hitmen, or sometimes some of their trained members who kill without remorse. Some of the murders shocked the world like the 2011 San Fernando Massacre.

Here are the 10 Most Gruesome Murders Committed By Drug Cartels:

1. The 2011 San Fernando Massacre

, , via Wikimedia Commons

The 2021 San Fernando Massacre is one of the most gruesome murders to be carried out by any drug cartel in the world. This mass murder saw 193 people lose their lives to the Los Zetas drug cartel at La Joya Ranch, San Fernando, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Throughout 2011, there were multiple hijackings of road users on the Mexican Federal Highway 101.

The victims were tortured, killed, and later buried in 47 clandestine mass graves. The unclaimed suitcases and other baggage in Reynosa and Matamoros raised suspicion to the authorities who began investigations immediately. On 6th April 2011, 59 corpses were exhumed from 8 mass graves.

As of 7th June 2011, the total number of exhumed bodies rose to 193. Female victims were raped and all sorts of things were done to them. The male victims were armed with machetes, knives, clubs, and other weapons and made to fight for survival. The intentions of the abductions and murders of these people were not clear.

2. 2011 Monterrey Casino Attack & Murder

Twelve members of the Los Zetas group met on 25th August 2011 for a special meeting where they were given orders to launch an attack. Their target was Casino Royale to send a warning to the owner for failing to pay an extortion. At around 3:00 pm, the cartel members stormed the Casino where they ordered the people to leave but due to fear, some left and others decided to hide.

The cartel members decided to douse the place with the gasoline they had brought with them and set the area on fire. This attack took some hours before the cartel members escaped leaving behind a trail of dead people’s bodies scattered in the facility. A total of 52 people mostly women were murdered in this deadly attack.

3. Photojournalist Margarito Martinez Murder

, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

49-year-old veteran photographer Margarito Martinez had more than 2 decades as a reporter in Tijuana, a city that was full of violence from drug cartels. He had worked for numerous local and international news outlets. Martinez had been taking photos and posting them on his blogs and other news outlets.

On 19th January 2022, Martinez was ambushed by a gunman while he was about to leave his home. The gunman opened fire on Martinez and shot at him on multiple occasions before he fled from the scene. Martinez did not manage to get to the hospital as he immediately died on the spot.

Investigations into this murder began immediately with the Prosecutors trying to rule out the cause of this murder. Two men were found responsible for the murder of Martinez after stalking him for some time. One of the men, Jose Heriberto Ochoa, filmed the murder after getting paid $1000 each.

4. Five Students Murders

Five young men aged between 19 and 22 went missing in Mexico and were later found brutally murdered by a Mexican drug cartel. The five had been lured to meet the gang after being given fake job offers. However, the five men refused to accept the offer of joining the drug cartel believed to have been the Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) cartel.

They were duct-taped, beaten mercilessly, stabbed, and behaved. What made these murders more horrific is that they were caught on a horrifying graphic video. These murders took place in August 2023 with the badly burned bodies of the young men being found in the location where the video was taken.

5. Fernando Villavicencio Assassination

Image by from

Ecuadorian presidential aspirant Fernando Villavicencio was assassinated by one of the most feared drug cartels two weeks before the 2023 Ecuadorian presidential election. On 9th August 2023, Fernando concluded a campaign rally at the Colegio Anderson in the northern part of Quito. At around 18:20, Fernando left the area and headed to his vehicle.

However, he was shot in the head as he was about to board his vehicle. This attack was massive as the cartel members had detonated a grenade that failed to kill their target. After being shot in the head, Fernando was rushed to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

6. Rodrigo Lara Murder

Rodriguez was a renowned Colombian lawyer and politician who worked hard against the Medellin drug cartel under Pablo Escobar. He worked hard as Minister of Justice who prosecuted cocaine traffickers. Pablo Escobar sent out his hitmen who murdered him.

On 30 April 1984, Rodrigo was in His convoy when Byron Velasquez and Ivan Dario Guisado rode past the convoy on a Yamaha motorcycle. Ivan opened fire using his Mac-10 firearm hitting Rodrigo multiple times. Rodrigo was killed instantly while his driver survived the gruesome attack. However, Ivan was shot dead by his bodyguards, Bryon was arrested and Pablo Escobar fled with his family to Panama.

7. The Murder of Jaime Ramírez

Photo by Faruk TokluoÄŸlu:

Jamie Ramirez was a renowned official of the National Police of Colombia who spearheaded the fight against the illegal drug trade in Colombia from the 1970s. He was responsible for the destruction of a huge cocaine production plant belonging to the Medellín Cartel. This operation made the cartel angry, targeting leaders, police officers, and other government officials with Jamie included in the list.

On 17th November 1986, two hitmen in a green Renault 18 approached Jamie as he and his family were traveling back to Bogotá. Since it was a Sunday, just one vehicle of bodyguards was near the hitmen who used an RPG-7 to take the bodyguards out. Jamie was then wounded by the hitmen in the process, and he crashed his vehicle into a rock close to a police station.

Colonel Ramirez was then shot many times using an automatic rifle as soon as he stepped out of his SUV. Colonel Ramrez was murdered on the spot by the multiple gunshots he received. His family did not suffer any harm during this attack.

8. Murder of Griselda Blanco

Famously referred to as the Black Widow of Cocaine Godmother, Griselda was a Colombian drug lord who was popular in the drug world. She was prominent in the cocaine-based drug trade in Miami from the 1970s to the early 2000s. Griselda was a ruthless drug lord who could order murders to be carried, out and also carry out some of them.

The Cardoso butcher shop on the corner of 29th Street in Medelln was where Blanco and her expectant daughter-in-law purchased $150 worth of meat on 3rd September 2012 before being murdered. She was fatally shot twice by an assassin riding a motorbike as she left. The drive-by motorcycle shot resembled the kind of assassination that Blanco is sometimes credited with bringing to Miami during her drug-fuelled rule.

9. The Murder of 2 Americans by the Gulf Cartel

Photo by cottonbro studio:

Four Americans had traveled into Mexico where LaTavia Washington McGee, the lone unharmed survivor, had ventured into a stomach tuck. Three guys reportedly went with her to drive and help with her rehabilitation. According to the FBI, the Americans were pushed from their rental van into another vehicle that fled the area after they crossed the border and came under fire shortly after.

Four days later, at a safe house outside of Matamoros, authorities located the Americans. There, Eric James Williams was found with gunshot wounds to his legs and two of the men—Zindell Brown and Shaeed Woodard—were discovered dead. Investigations began with 5 Mexicans linked to the Gulf Cartel being arrested and charged for the gruesome murders.

10. 2010 Chihuahua shootings

On 10 June 2010, at least 19 persons were killed in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. The attack happened inside a drug treatment facility in Chihuahua, the state’s capital. The second level of the Templo Cristiano Fe y Vida (Christian Faith and Life Temple) was invaded by at least 30 armed men who arrived in six trucks.

The gunmen lined up the victims before killing them. They started firing at everybody they came across, including staff and patients, after telling anyone who inquired that they were from the police.

Various governments across the world have joined hands to fight against the drug cartels’ menaces. In recent days, these gruesome murders have been managed by the authorities responsible.