José Rodrigo Aréchiga Gamboa

José Rodrigo Aréchiga Gamboa (15 June 1980 – 15 May 2020), commonly referred to by his alias "El Chino Ántrax", was a Mexican drug lord, a professional hitman, and a high-ranking member of the Sinaloa Cartel, a criminal organization based in Sinaloa.

He was one of the leaders and the founder of Los Ántrax, an armed enforcement group that protected Sinaloa cartel leader Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada and his sons.

José Rodrigo Aréchiga Gamboa, often referred to by his alias 'El Chino Ántrax', was born in Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico on 15 June 1980.

Aréchiga Gamboa began to work for the Sinaloa Cartel as a bodyguard of Vicente Zambada Niebla (alias "El Vicentillo"), son of Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, until 2008.

Following the separation of the Sinaloa organization and the Beltrán Leyva Cartel that year, he went on to form Los Ántrax, an armed squadron of the Sinaloa Cartel for providing armed security services to "El Mayo" Zambada.

He was nearly killed on 4 November 2008 when an armed commando opened fire at a car wash in Culiacán.

In the attack, Los Ántrax lost one of its members, Alfredo Vizcarra Vega (alias "El Fello Ántrax"), son of a Sinaloa police commander.

Aréchiga Gamboa reportedly managed to escape uninjured during the shootout.

In 2008, he founded Los Ántrax with another drug lord known as René Velázquez Valenzuela (alias Sergeant "Phoenix Ántrax", Vladi Portillo [the Russian] "El Gato Negro" (Black cat) and "El Taliban" ), who was arrested by the Mexican Army that year and sent to jail in Aguaruto, Sinaloa.

Following the arrest of Zambada Niebla in March 2009, the drug lord ascended in the apex of the Sinaloa Cartel given his friendship with one of "El Mayo" Zambada's sons.

He was then called to oversee the plaza (turf) of Culiacán, the center of operations of Los Ántrax and the city where the Zambada family reportedly resided.

Among the first gang leaders to die was Redel Castro (alias "El Pocho Ántrax"), who was killed in a massive shootout in June 2010 with rival members of the Beltrán Leyva Cartel in Tubutama, Sonora.

In May 2011, the Mexican Army arrested, tortured, and killed three members of Los Ántrax after they mistook them for kidnappers: the members were Franklin Olguín Velázquez (alias "El Franki" and/or "El Dos"), Jesús Humberto Corona Guillén (alias "El Chuve"), and Pedro Valenzuela Meza (alias "El Pedrón").

In November of that year, Francisco Arce Rubio (alias "Pancho Arce"), another high-ranking gang leader close to El Chino Ántrax, was killed during an indoor soccer game in Culiacán by rival gangsters of Los Mazatlecos.

Following the death of Arce Rubio, "El Mayo" Zambada withdrew El Chino Ántrax from the day-to-day activities of Los Ántrax until he sorted things out.

The charge alleged that he conspired with other people to import 500 grams of methamphetamines and 5 kilograms of cocaine to the U.S. The indictment, started by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in late 2011, was part of an investigation known as Operation Narco Polo, where federal agents intercepted several phone calls from March and October 2012 between Aréchiga Gamboa and drug traffickers from the San Diego–Tijuana area.

The investigation also included the testimony of arrested smugglers, seized drugs and money, and photographs that inculpate them.

From 2011 and 2013, the drug lord lived in Los Cabos, Baja California Sur and led Los Ántrax against the criminal group Los Zetas in the area.

However, the attacks against the gang continued; in February 2012, Roque Landeros (alias "Roque Ántrax") was killed with three other men in Culiacán.

Local media outlets alleged that the killings stemmed from an internal power struggle within the Sinaloa Cartel, specifically from a group commanded by "El Chapo" Guzmán.

Mexico's Office of the General Prosecutor (PGR) and Secretariat of Public Security (SSP) have identified various other leaders under the hierarchy of El Chino Ántrax.

Jesús Peña (alias "El 20") is believed to be a close associate of the drug lord; others include a man known as Melesio (alias "El Mele"); "El Traka Ántrax", identified by authorities as the gang's recruiter; Eusebio Imperial or Eliseo Castro (alias "El Cheyo Ántrax"), a supposed nephew of "El Mayo" Zambada; a man known as "El Monkey"; and "El Changuito", the former alleged financial head of Los Ántrax, both arrested on 16 April 2012.

Aréchiga Gamboa was wanted by the United States government and faced charges in a San Diego, California federal court for trafficking methamphetamines, cocaine and marijuana.

He was arrested on December 30 2013 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.

While in Los Cabos, Aréchiga Gamboa reportedly ordered the murder of Francisco Rafael Arellano Félix, a former leader of the Tijuana Cartel, on 18 October 2013.

The PGR revealed that the motive possibly stemmed from Arellano Félix's involvement in money laundering activities and as a message from the Los Ántrax to show that they were in charge of organized crime in Los Cabos.

The Baja California state authorities identified the possible murders of the drug lord: Noé Castro (alias "R1"), Aréchiga Gamboa's right-hand man in Los Cabos; and a man known by his alias "R13".

His most common alias was Chino Anthrax, but the drug lord was also known as El Comandante Ántrax ("Commander Anthrax"), R-57, El Oriental ("The Oriental"), El Quinto Elemento ("The Fifth Element"), Scarface Renacido ("Reborn Scarface"), among others.

On his Facebook, Twitter (@comandante57_) and Instagram (miauuuu5_7 and jamesbond5_7) accounts, Aréchiga Gamboa uploaded pictures and videos of his ostentatious lifestyle, which included trips to Europe, Las Vegas (where he attended the Manny Pacquiao vs. Brandon Rios fight), Japan, and parts of Africa and the Middle East.

In one of his pictures, the drug lord appears alongside Paris Hilton.

The drug lord also has pictures with Ismael Zambada Imperial (alias "El Mayito Gordo"), son of "El Mayo" Zambada and a high-ranking enforcer within the cartel.

He also has pictures with Serafín Zambada Ortiz (alias "El Sera"), also son of "El Mayo" Zambada who was arrested by U.S. authorities in November 2013 while attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona.

He also uploaded pictures of his sport cars, yachts, weapons, jewelry, money, and extravagant parties with famous narcocorrido bands.

On social media, he raffled cellphones, sunglasses, cars, and other gifts with his followers.

He frequently appeared on his Instagram feed sporting his muscular physique, protein intakes, and workout routines.

Aréchiga Gamboa also has several narcocorrido ballads about him, some which describe him as an "elegant and fit man" who enjoys his sport cars, yachts, and drinking champagne.

He was part of the younger generation of Mexican drug traffickers that enjoy displaying their luxurious lifestyle online.

He was extradited to the US on July 10, 2014.

After being sentenced to house arrest, he was reported missing on May 9, 2020.

He reappeared in Culiacan, Sinaloa on May 15, 2020 where he was found murdered along with his sister and brother-in-law.