The region of the Heroica Caborca was founded in 1980 made up of 341 towns within its territory, the most important being La Y Griega, El Diamante, El Coyote, Desemboque, Puertos lobos and San Francisquito. It is part of the great sonora desert, touching the border line to the south and southeast with the municipality of Pitiquito, to the east with the municipality of Altar and to the northwest with the municipality of Puerto Peñasco, along with the municipality of General Plutarco Elías Calles. To the extreme northeast it borders with the United States, particularly the Pima County of the state of Arizona.
Within the city, illegal activities are prominent such as drug trafficking and smuggling of undocumented immigrants. Well-known personalities in the Mexican drug trafficking derive from these illicit activities, one of them the renowned Rafael Caro Quintero and his brother Miguel Ángel Caro Quintero who have made Caborca their base to organize and develop all the activities related to drug trafficking.
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Rafael was once part of the famous Guadalajara cartel related to the famous members such as Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, Miguel Salcido Beltrán “El Cochiloco” and Joaquín Archivaldo Loera “El Chapo” Guzmán. The other cartel known as Cartel de Sonora had it's best years between the 70's, 80's and 90's. Both brothers were arrested, Miguel Ángel is free man with nothing pending yet while Rafael is still wanted by the Mexican government on a extradition warrant by the United States government.
Such was the immense growth of the Caro Quintero family, that they created networks, forged relationships with other plaza bosses and brought in family to help direct operations, one being the Paez Soto family. Operation were led by Pedro Paez Soto, cousin of the famous Lamberto Quintero Payan and uncle of Rafael Caro Quintero. Pedro Paez Soto was executed in 1975 at the Culiacan airport, he died in the violent feud between the Quintero Payan families and the Otañez Lafarga family.
The city first continued under the control of Rafael Caro Quintero in the 80s and 90s up until his arrest. The younger brother Miguel Ángel Caro Quintero took over the organization creating the Sonora Cartel and its base in Caborca. Miguel Ángel was arrested in December 2001 and extradited to the United States.
Control of the city fell to a relative and trusted man of Miguel Ángel Caro Quintero, his name, Octavio Paez Soto, who was executed on April 16, 2004 by his nephew Luis Fernando Sanchez Paez aka "L7" in the house of Octavio's sister Doña Tula. Octavio Paez sustained at least 15 gunshots from a 9mm to his body from L7. During the war waged by these capos the city experienced violent confrontations in the Plaza de Caborca that included; shootings, abductions and searches by authorities that seized an incredible number of weapons.
After the death of Octavio Paez Soto control of Caborca fell to his brother Ignacio Paez Soto aka "El Nachillo" or "C1." For years he fought the plaza of Caborca against his nephew Luis (Luisillo) Fernando Sanchez Paez L7, the Nachillo Paez people managed to keep the L7 people at bay.
The searches and arrests related to Luis Fernando Sanchez Paez led to him retreating to Sinaloa. This was a grave mistake since the Paez Soto family already had a tight relationship with Chapo Guzman, Mayo Zambada and the Beltran Leyva brothers who together hunted for El L7. L7 was eventually executed with two companions in the city of Culiacan on September 6, 2009 while travelling in a gray Jetta.
The vehicle of Luisillo Páez L7
El Nachillo Páez kept control of the la plaza of Caborca, all under the direction of Ismael El Mayo Zambada and Manuel Beltrán “El Nini Beltrán”.
The criminal structure headed by Ignacio Páez Soto included the criminal groups known as "Los Paleteros" and "Los Sabori," in charge of collecting fees from all taxi drivers and smugglers of undocumented immigrants who wanted to pass through the El Sásabe area, municipality from Sáric.
That same year of the death of Luis Fernando Sánchez Páez, Ignacio Páez Soto was arrested on September 15 and released after a large bribe to the federal forces. Ignacio Páez Soto was again arrested on November 7, 2013 aboard an armored Jeep Grand Cherokee near the town of Piquito along with his escorts identified as Reynaldo Alejandro del Río López, alias "El Tongo," and Francisco Ricardo Bermúdez Méndez, alias "El Talibán." Today Ignacio Paez Soto is serving a 20 year sentence and has been identified as a main operator for Joaquín El Chapo Guzmán Loera and Ismael El Mayo Zambada.
The Paez family that has been marked by death that was derived from the dispute over the aforementioned territories, has caused a wave of executions, causing several casualties between both "criminal organizations" of "Mayo Zambada" and the Beltrán Leyva, which has forced "Los Páez" to work indiscriminately for both groups. This led to the execution of Luis Octavio Páez Terrazas, Giovanni Páez and Leonel Páez Benítez "El Gavilán," among other leaders of the structure.
Giovanni Páez was killed after a confrontation between adversary groups in Altar, Sonora on April 21, 2009.
Leonel Páez Benítez “El Gavilán” was executed on July 13, 2009 after several unsuccessful attempts to maintain total control in the agricultural coast of Caborca by a commando of sicarios who were keeping rival authorities and drug trafficking groups in check.
El Gavilan was known to be behind the death of the workers of Oomapas due to an argument during a soccer match. Victor Manuel Flores Quijada and Francisco Lopez Valdez were killed. Francisco died at the scene while Victor Manuel was chased down in a car and was riddled with bullets after being caught.
On June 4, 2009 the structure of the Paez was threatened. A white Yukon truck with 11 mutilated bodies and a narcomanta addressed to Octavio Paez's lieutenants and colleagues was found on the Caborca, Sonoyta federal highway that possibly had been abducted in Y Griega.
This massacre was attributed to an internal war of the Sinaloa Cartel, the person responsible was Adelmo Nieblas "El G3" plaza boss in Sonoyta for El Chapo Guzman.
People associated to the Paez clan:
Manuel Beltran Quintero "El Nini," arrested in 2014 by federal forces.
Raul Beltran Quintero "El 9," arrested on March 23, 2016
Adolfo Jauregui Mesa "El Paletero," leader of Los Paleteros, executed on February 2, 2013.
Óscar de la Rocha Rivera "El Chapo de la Rocha," was a man close to Rafael Caro Quintero was arrested on February 23, 2015. .
Raul Sabori Cisneros "El Negro," arrested on April 13, 2011.
Jose Rodrigo Paez Quintero "El R," nephew of Rafael Caro Quintero.
Currently a relative related to the Paez family, with the support of Rafael Caro Quintero, is fighting for the plaza of Caborca, Altar and the coast of Caborca, led by Rodrigo Paez and Oscar de la Rocha against La Gente Nueva del Cazador and Gente Nueva del Ruma, they are loyal to Los Paleteros who were led by Ignacio Paez Soto. They are now allied with the Gente Nueva Salazar after the arrest of their leader Nachillo Paez.
The confrontations over the trafficking and sale of drugs such as the well-known crystal have in check farm communities of Caborca, that have resulted in the following confrontations:
December 19, 2019: confrontation in the Y Griega, two dead and one wounded, several abandoned cars.
April 19, 2020: farming community of morelos, municipality of Caborca, 4 dead, 3 wounded.
April 30, 2020: Puerto Lobos, shooting and fire of shops and houses.
This is the result in the intense reorganization within the structure, internal disputes and changes of alliances, some working for Joaquin Guzman Loera and some for Mayo Zambada. The was indicative of the advances from the Beltran Leyva brothers and the Caro Quintero clan. They have allowed the Paez family remain currently under control, the last name of Paez in Caborca is synonymous with power and death.
Caborca joins the wave of violence that keeps the state of Sonora as a hot zone, the fight for plazas in Sonora by the Sinaloa Cartel against other rival groups supported by cartels such as Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, groups allied with of Caro Quintero, the Beltran Leyva under the command of El Chapo Isidro and the Juarez Cartel with their armed wing of la línea disputed the plazas of sonora.
Heroica Caborca remains one of the most influential and powerful plazas, the history of drug trafficking has defined the city.