One of the two men killed in a Thanksgiving morning shooting in LA was a high-profile member of the Sinaloa drug cartel, who littered his Instagram page with photos of him alongside celebrities including Al Pacino and Floyd Mayweather.
He said Thursday’s victims included Eddie Escobedo, also known as El Mago or The Magician Borderland beat, a website that provides extensive coverage of Mexican drug cartels.
The Sinaloa cartel is largely responsible for the massive influx of fentanyl into the US in recent years, the US Drug Enforcement Administration alleges.
Police were called to the scene around 8:30 a.m. Thursday morning in the Willowbrook neighborhood of Los Angeles. Officers found two men dead in a parking lot surrounded by warehouses and shipping containers.
“We have no motive at this time. It appears there was some type of gathering or party taking place at the location from last night through early this morning,” said Lt. Omar Camacho of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department.
This was said by a local entrepreneur ABC Los Angeles that one of the warehouses in the area is regularly rented out for parties.
Eddie Escobedo, 39, littered his Instagram page with photos showcasing his luxurious lifestyle and showing him with A-list celebrities
In February, Escobedo posted an image of himself with film legend Al Pacino
A local business owner said the shooting happened outside a building regularly used for parties on an industrial street in Willowbrook
Police are believed to be monitoring a person involved in the murder
The other victim has not been identified. Online records show Escobedo was 36 years old.
“It is too early in the investigation to find out if we have arrested a possible suspect or witnesses we have yet to contact,” Camacho said. KTLA reported that investigators have identified themselves as a person of interest.
According to Borderland Beat’s report, Escobedo was a childhood friend of Ivan Archivaldo Guzman, also known as El Chapito, son of El Chapo.
A few days earlier, one of Guzman’s closest allies was arrested. Nestor Isidro Perez Salas, or ‘El Nini’, was arrested in Mexico.
The article goes on to note that he was born in Durango, Mexico, but had lived in California for some time.
In 2008, he was suspected of playing a role in the shooting of 25-year-old Jose Luis Macias in Los Angeles.
a Los Angeles Times A 2009 report, citing police documents, said Escobedo wanted to be the shot caller for the local faction and faced opposition from Macias, his former friend.
The shooting involved a “brazen” shooting on a busy highway in which more than 100 bullets were fired into Macias’ car.
“Champions hang out with champions,” Escobido wrote in the caption of this photo of him with Floyd Mayweather
TV footage showed a small crowd gathered at the scene of the shooting early on Thanksgiving
Three years later, Escobedo was arrested in connection with the discovery of more than 2,500 pounds of marijuana at a home in LA’s Torrance neighborhood.
In the legitimate world, Escobedo operated a food truck business in Southern California. One of these, Besthibachi, was forced to change its name to Besthibachi due to an infringement lawsuit filed by Benihana.
Escobedo regularly posted about his food brand on his Instagram page. In one clip he is shown driving a Rolls Royce.
The renowned cartel member is pictured in several photos with boxing legend Floyd Mayweather, Oscar winner Al Pacino and music star Luis Coronel.
Escobed wrote in the caption of his photo with Pacino, “Say hi to my little friend,” a reference to the screen legend’s role as drug lord Tony Montana in Scarface.
At the end of the film, a rival drug gang shoots Montana with a hail of bullets.
Among those mourning Escobedo on social media is a Latin Music star Roberto Tapia. In one post, Tapia wrote that he “couldn’t believe” his “friend” was gone and said he will be “missed.”
Tapia then posted a video of the pair laughing together with another friend. “I’m going to miss you so much my old man, what a great friend you were,” he wrote in the caption of another video showing the couple surrounded by luxury cars.
“Wherever my friend is, I will always remember him, my great friend,” he wrote in another caption, while also posting a video of them recently together in Las Vegas.
Earlier this week, the Mexican National Guard arrested El Nini, who is accused of directing security for the Sinaloa cartel.
Perez Salas was seen by US anti-narcotics agents as one of the most ruthless Mexican drug figures. He was held in Culiacan, the heart of the Sinaloa cartel, and taken to Mexico City, according to government detention records.
He is accused by the US State Department of working under Ivan Archivaldo Guzman to lead the ‘Ninis’, a violent group of security personnel for the Guzman brothers, also known as ‘Los Chapitos’.
US courts have charged Perez Salas with a slew of charges related to his alleged role at the helm of the Chapitos’ security apparatus, including cocaine and methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy, machine gun possession and witness retaliation.
The State Department had offered $3 million for information leading to his arrest.
Nini’s arrest comes less than a week after US President Joe Biden met with his Mexican counterpart Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
“We are working side by side to fight gun trafficking, tackle organized crime and tackle the opioid epidemic, including fentanyl,” Biden said.
The US and Mexico also agreed with China last week to stem the flow of fentanyl precursors from the Asian country.
In January, Mexican authorities arrested Ovidio Guzman in Sinaloa and extradited him to the United States in September. The three other Guzman brothers suspected of being leaders of Los Chapitos – including figurehead Ivan – remain at large.