Two weeks before the end of May, José René Bastidas Mercado, alias “El 00”, an ally of Fausto Isidro Meza Flores, “El Chapo Isidro,” and Jaime Andrés Fernández Zazueta, alias “El Jimmy,” a member of Los Chapitos and a close associate of Iván Archivaldo Guzmán, leader of that faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, allegedly held a meeting with senior members of the government of Baja California Sur.
During that meeting, those present were informed about the arrival of El Chapo Isidro in the state.
According to the report, members of Los Chapitos were told that all of their operatives in the state had 48 hours to leave.
Journalist José Luis Montenegro made these claims in the latest episode of the podcast Narcomundo.
The journalist also stated that the same night, Iván Archivaldo Guzmán, “El Chapito,” leader of Los Chapitos and son of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán Loera, boarded a private jet that flew him to Guadalajara, the capital of the state of Jalisco, as he had reportedly been staying in San José del Cabo, one of his preferred hiding places up until that moment.
According to Montenegro, Víctor Manuel Castro Cosío, known as “El Profe” and governor of the state, was aware of the escape, as was Carlos Alberto Beltrán Olmedo, then Chief Administrative Officer of the Los Cabos City Council, who resigned from the position on May 25.
The journalist claimed that both local political figures are very close to the Guzmán family.
Who Is “El Jimmy”?
According to Montenegro, the story of Jaime Andrés Fernández Zazueta, alias “El Jimmy,” is that of a loyal cartel figure. He allegedly not only served as a lookout for the son of El Chapo Guzmán, but also quickly became a strategist and the third-ranking leader within the Sinaloa Cartel, behind only José Ángel Canobbio Inzunza, alias “El Güerito,” who was extradited to the United States on February 27, 2025, and Óscar Noé Medina González, alias “El Panu,” who was killed in December at a restaurant in the Juárez neighborhood of Mexico City.
El Jimmy was born on October 13, 1989, making him six years younger than Iván Archivaldo Guzmán, who, according to reports, was born on August 15, 1983. Both grew up in Culiacán, Sinaloa, and whenever El Chapito vacationed in Puerto Vallarta or spent long periods in Guadalajara, El Jimmy reportedly did everything possible to accompany him.
It is worth recalling that on August 15, 2016, Iván Archivaldo Guzmán attended the popular restaurant and bar La Leche in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, to celebrate his 33rd birthday, where he was kidnapped by an armed group from the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), specifically by forces linked to Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias “El Mencho.”
Iván was accompanied by his brother Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar, his father-in-law Mario Lindoro Elenes, alias “El Niño,” his brother-in-law Alfredo Lindoro Navidad, alias “El 7,” and his wife Araceli Sulema Lindoro, with whom he would have at least two children. El Jimmy was also present on that occasion.
Who Is “El 00”?
According to the report, René Bastidas, alias “El 00,” is allegedly responsible not only for collecting extortion payments from various businesses in Baja California Sur, but also for maintaining control over the population through what is described as a “Narco Pax”—a strategy in which organized crime groups claim they can guarantee peace in exchange for being allowed to control drug distribution or establish fentanyl laboratories in the state.
The report also alleges that Bastidas, who was born in the town of Ajoya, in San Ignacio, Sinaloa, has been responsible for killing police officers who refused to cooperate with that arrangement.
He reportedly began his criminal career under Dámaso López Núñez, alias “El Licenciado,” one of the last heirs of the Beltrán Leyva Cartel, and Juan Francisco Patrón Sánchez, alias “H2,” leader of a faction allegedly linked to former Mexican Defense Secretary Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda during the administration of Enrique Peña Nieto.
Following the downfall of El Lic and his son “El Mini Lic,” Bastidas allegedly took control of the territory they had entrusted to him: La Cruz, in Elota, Sinaloa. Afterward, he reportedly joined El Chapo Isidro.
Source: infobae
