Cartels are actively enlisting ruthless female assassins to strengthen their forces in a brutal effort to eliminate their rivals and control the narcotics trade.
Among these recruits is Juana N, also known as La Peque, who swiftly escalated from challenging circumstances to a violent role within the Mexican Los Zetas cartel.
Originating from Hidalgo, Juana became a young mother and faced financial struggles. Amidst limited choices and increasing poverty, she turned to prostitution, eventually crossing paths with criminal organizations.
Through her connections, she was brought into Los Zetas, initially as an informant. It is reported that she engaged in beheadings, mutilations, and other extreme violent acts on behalf of the cartel.
Juana detailed her duties, spending hours on surveillance, watching for law enforcement or military presence. Failure resulted in punishment through confinement and meager rations.
In a disturbing prison interview, she claimed to bathe in her victims’ blood, drink it warm, and engage in necrophilic acts. She awaits sentencing for her heinous crimes.
Beyond Los Zetas, other gangs also harbor ruthless female members. Claudia Ochoa Félix, often likened to the ‘Kim Kardashian of organized crime’, operated within the infamous Sinaloa Cartel and its enforcer group, Los Antrax.
Félix, associated with Jose Gamboa, another trafficker and former leader of Los Antrax, displayed extravagance on social media, posing with pink AK-47s, luxury vehicles, and piles of cash.
Following Gamboa’s apprehension, Félix purportedly took charge of the lethal hit squad known for their brutality, including wearing diamond-adorned skull rings and executing violent acts to solidify their dominance.
In a 2011 clash with Mexican soldiers, the gang uncovered three abductees in a nearby hideout, one suffering severe mutilation. Post the assassination of their ex-leader, the group carried out a string of murders, leaving bodies displayed publicly.
Félix was discovered deceased in 2019 under suspicious circumstances, triggering speculation ranging from overdose to cartel retaliation.
María Guadalupe López Esquivel, aka “La Catrina”, emerged as a feared hitwoman for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), overseeing a team of ruthless killers and orchestrating assaults on rivals and law enforcement.
In a notorious incident in 2019, her squad ambushed and killed a group of police officers in Michoacan, leaving behind cartel insignias at the crime scene.
La Catrina flaunted luxury brands, flashy cars, gold-plated weapons, and armed companions on social media, symbolizing her reign of terror.
Her violent rule ended in a fatal confrontation with Mexican security forces near Mexico City in 2020, where she sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the neck.
Footage showed the wounded 21-year-old struggling for life, receiving reassurances before succumbing en route to a hospital.
Tragically, she passed away in the helicopter shortly before reaching medical care.