Texis Cartel

The Texis Cartel (Cártel de Texis) was a Salvadoran criminal organization which specialized in drug trafficking operations. The cartel transported drugs manufactured by Colombian drug cartels through northern El Salvador towards North America. The Texis Cartel was allegedly founded in the 1990s by businessman José Adán Salazar Umaña (known by his alias "Chepe Diablo"), politician Juan Umaña Samayoa, and businessman Roberto Herrera. The cartel bribed Salvadoran law enforcement officers and judicial officials to help its leaders evade identification by Salvadoran authorities.

Herrera was arrested in 2013 and sentenced to 3 years imprisonment in 2015 for his role in the Texis Cartel. Salvadoran authorities effectively dismantled the Texis Cartel in 2018 after it arrested several of its alleged leaders, including Salazar Umaña and Umaña Samayoa. In 2021, both Salazar Umaña and Umaña Samayoa were found not guilty by a Salvadoran court of money laundering relating to the Salvadoran government's investigation into the Texis Cartel and released.

Establishment
The Texis Cartel was established in the 1990s in El Salvador. The cartel was allegedly founded by José Adán Salazar Umaña (known by his alias "Chepe Diablo") (a businessman who was the then-president of the First Division of Football of El Salvador), Juan Umaña Samayoa (the then-mayor of Metapán), and Roberto Herrera (a businessman). The Texis Cartel trafficked drugs from Honduras, through northern El Salvador, and to Guatemala. Salazar allegedly used his various businesses to money launder. The cartel also allegedly received further support from Armando Portillo Portillo (the then-mayor of Texistepeque), Reynaldo Cardoza (a deputy of the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador from Chalatenango), and Óscar Ortiz, the then-mayor of Santa Tecla and future vice president of El Salvador.

Government investigation
The Salvadoran government began investigating the Texis Cartel's operations in 2000, but unlike El Salvador's criminal street gang such as MS-13 and 18th Street gang, the Texis Cartel's leaders were unknown. According to InSight Crime, the Texis Cartel's supposed connections to high-ranking Salvadoran politicians helped the group's leaders evade detection from Salvadoran law enforcement agencies by obstructing investigations. In 2011, the United Nations confirmed that the Texis Cartel, along with the Los Perrones drug trafficking group, had received protection from Salvadoran government officials. The Texis Cartel also bribed soldiers and police officers to allow drug shipments to proceed; and judges and prosecutors to not pursue criminal chargers against the cartel's members.

In 2011, the El Faro digital newspaper published an article which accused Salazar Umaña and Umaña Samayoa of being the cartel's founders. Both denied El Faro ' s accusations. Following the release of El Faro ' s report, Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes announced that there was enough evidence to conduct a full investigation into the Texis Cartel. In 2013, Salvadoran Minister of National Defense David Munguía Payés claimed that no drug cartels existed in El Salvador, and that any cartel activity in the country were "cells" that belonged to foreign drug cartels. Later that year, he acknowledged the existence of the Texis Cartel, describing it as a "baby cartel". In 2014, the United States listed Salazar Umaña on its Drug Kingpin List, but removed him in 2017 due to a lack of evidence.



In 2011, Herrera was arrested by the National Civil Police for his alleged ties to the Texis Cartel. He was charged with being involved in a car theft scheme which stole 300 cars in Guatemala to be used by the Texis Cartel, however, a Salvadoran court acquitted him of all charges in 2014. In 2015, a court ordered a retrial for Herrera on the same charges. Herrera claimed that the Texis Cartel did not exist nor did it smuggle drugs. In 2015, Herrera was found guilty and sentenced to 3 years imprisonment, but this sentence was later reduced to one year.

On 4 April 2017, Salazar Umaña was arrested in an operation by the National Civil Police under orders of the Office of the Attorney General (FGR). He was charged with money laundering and tax evasion in relation to the FGR's investigation into the Texis Cartel. Umaña Samayoa evaded arrest during the operation, but he was eventually arrested in 2018, effectively dismantling the Texis Cartel. In October 2020, both men along with four other co-defendants went on trial, accused by the FGR of laundering US$500 million in connection to its investigation into the Texis Cartel, however, all defendants were found not guilty by the Second Penal Court on 21 May 2021 and released.

Operations
The Texis Cartel did not have a hierarchical leadership structure, instead, it operated as a coalition between various individuals who oversaw certain aspects of the cartel. The cartel utilized its business connections to help launder money and receive indirect loans from the Salvadoran government worth up to hundreds of thousands of United States dollars. The Texis Cartel is headquartered in Metapán, Santa Ana in northern El Salvador. The cartel helped Colombian drug cartels move drugs through Central America towards North America; it received drug shipments in northern El Salvador in San Fernando and Dulce Nombre de María, moved it by truck through Chalatenango along the Northern Longitudinal Highway, and exported it to Guatemala out of Metapán. This route was known as the "Northern Route" or "The Little Pathway" ("El Caminito"). The Texis Cartel bribed several mayors and businessmen along this route to allow drug shipments to remain unhindered.

The Texis Cartel primary specialized in drug trafficking operations. The cartel also operated prostitution rings and engaged in extortion and kidnapping. The Texis Cartel had an unknown number of members. The cartel infrequently committed homicides, and its low-ranking members often did not carry weapons and instead relied on soldiers and police officers for protection. The cartel did not ally itself with any specific drug cartels, instead, offering its services to whatever group was willing to pay. It typically worked with drug cartels from Colombia and Mexico.

The Texis Cartel's wide network of connections to Salvadoran government officials helped the group make its drug trafficking operations more efficient. The businessmen and politicians who led the cartel granted it the funds necessary to maintain its operations. Soldiers and police officers involved in the cartel's operations provided security and advised the cartel ahead of time of potential police operations. The cartel bribed judges and prosecutors to not pursue charges against individuals involved in the cartel's drug trafficking operations. The cartel also hired gang members from MS-13 and 18th Street gang to intimidate and kill opponents if necessary.