El Chino Antrax was one of the most notorious and feared drug lords in Mexico, a high-ranking member of the Sinaloa Cartel and the founder of Los Antrax, an armed group that protected the interests of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and his sons. He was known for his lavish lifestyle, his love for luxury cars, jewelry, and women, and his brutal methods of killing his enemies. But his life of crime came to an abrupt and violent end in May 2020, when he was murdered along with his sister and brother-in-law in Culiacan, Sinaloa. How did he die and who killed him? This article will explore the possible answers to these questions.
The Arrest and Escape of El Chino Antrax
El Chino Antrax, whose real name was Jose Rodrigo Arechiga Gamboa, was born in Culiacan, Sinaloa, in 1980. He started working for the Sinaloa Cartel as a bodyguard of Vicente Zambada Niebla, son of El Mayo Zambada, until 2008. That year, he formed Los Antrax, an elite squad of hitmen that carried out assassinations, kidnappings, extortions, and other violent acts for the cartel. He rose to prominence in the criminal underworld and became one of the most trusted and loyal lieutenants of El Mayo Zambada.
However, his fame also attracted the attention of the authorities, who had been tracking his movements for years. On December 30, 2013, he was arrested at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in the Netherlands at the request of the United States, which contacted Interpol to arrest him for charges relating to drug trafficking. He was extradited to the US on July 10, 2014, where he faced a possible life sentence in prison.
But El Chino Antrax did not spend much time behind bars. In December 2019, he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of conspiracy to import cocaine and marijuana and was sentenced to seven years and three months in prison. However, since he had already served six years in custody, he was eligible for release under supervised release. On March 3, 2020, he was transferred to a halfway house in San Diego, California, where he was supposed to remain until December 2020.
But on May 8, 2020, he cut off his ankle monitor and fled from the halfway house. The US Marshals Service issued a warrant for his arrest and launched a manhunt to find him. But they were too late. El Chino Antrax had already crossed the border back to Mexico.
The Murder of El Chino Antrax
On May 15, 2020, El Chino Antrax reappeared in Culiacan, Sinaloa, where he met with his sister Ada Jimena Arechiga Gamboa and her husband Juan Guillermo Garcia. They went to a ranch owned by El Mayo Zambada in Ayuné, a rural area near Culiacan. There, they were ambushed by a group of armed men who shot them dead. Their bodies were found inside a black BMW SUV that had been abandoned on a dirt road.
The killers also left a message on a cardboard sign that read: “You wanted to fly like a bird but you forgot that you have wings made of lead.” The sign also had the initials “CDS”, which stand for Cartel de Sinaloa (Sinaloa Cartel). The message was apparently a warning to other members of Los Antrax who might have betrayed the cartel or tried to escape from its ranks.
The motive behind the murder of El Chino Antrax is still unclear. Some sources suggest that he was killed by rival factions within the Sinaloa Cartel who wanted to eliminate him as a potential threat or competitor. Others claim that he was killed by Los Chapitos, the sons of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who had a dispute with El Mayo Zambada after El Chapo’s arrest and extradition to the US. They allegedly ordered his execution to weaken the forces of El Mayo Zambada and gain more control over the cartel.
Another possibility is that he was killed by his own men from Los Antrax who felt betrayed by his escape from the US and his abandonment of their cause. They might have seen him as a traitor who sold out to the authorities or as a coward who ran away from his responsibilities. They might have also wanted to take revenge for the death of Yuriana Castillo Torres, El Chino Antrax’s partner and mother of his son, who was kidnapped and killed in Culiacan in May 2014.
Whatever the reason behind his death, El Chino Antrax’s fate was a tragic and ironic one. He lived a life of violence, power, and luxury, but he died in a brutal and humiliating way. He was once one of the most feared and respected drug lords in Mexico, but he ended up as a corpse in a ditch. He was El Chino Antrax, the cause of death of many, but also the cause of his own death.
