Ramón Arellano Félix was famously known for being one of the most ruthless criminals working in the Tijuana cartel. This criminal organization was founded in 1987 by Ramón and his brother Benjamín and was responsible for the smuggling of one-third of US cocaine from Mexico.
Ramón ran the cartel with his many siblings and ordered several murders throughout his criminal career.
If you want to know more about his deadly family, keep reading. We created a list of Ramón Arellano Félix’s siblings ranked oldest to youngest. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find the exact date of birth of three of his sisters, so we decided to put them on top of our list.
11. Norma Isabel Arellano Félix
Norma Isabel Arellano Félix was one of Ramón’s sisters. Unfortunately, no information is available on her life online.
Did You Know?
Norma served as a drug trafficker and was one of the members of the Tijuana cartel.
10. Leticia Arellano Félix
Leticia Arellano Félix was another of Ramón’s sisters. Similarly to her sister Norma, she managed to keep her life private, so we do not have any information about her.
9. Alicia Maria Arellano Félix
Alicia Maria Arellano Félix was another of Ramón’s sisters. Together with her sibling Enedina, she was involved in money laundering for the Tijuana cartel.
8. Francisco Rafael Arellano Félix (October 24, 1949 – October 18, 2013)
Age at time of death:63 years, 11 months, 25 days
Birthplace: Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico
Member of Tijuana Cartel: Yes; served as leader for a few years
photo source: commons.wikimedia.org
Francisco Rafael Arellano was Ramón’s oldest brother, born in 1949. He joined the Tijuana cartel in 1989 following his brother Benhamín. This happened soon after the arrest of Miguel Angel Félix Gallardo, who, at the time, was one of the most successful drug dealers in Mexico.
After Francisco took control of the cartel, a dispute arose between the Tijuana cartel and the Sinaloa one, resulting in the death of several members of both criminal organizations.
Francisco was the cartel leader for a few years before getting arrested in 1993 in Tijuana, Baja, California. He was taken to a maximum security prison, where he spent several years before being extradited in 2006.
Did You Know?
Francisco died in 2013 while celebrating his birthday in Los Cabos, Baja California Sur. He was shot by a man disguised as a clown.
7. Benjamín Arellano Félix ( March 12, 1952 – present)
Current Age (as of January 2023): 70 years, 10 months, 15 days
Birthplace: Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico.
Member of Tijuana Cartel: Yes; co-founder of cartel
Benjamín Arellano Félix was born in 1952 and is still alive. Together with his brother Ramón, Benjamín founded the Tijuana cartel, also known as the ‘Arellano-Félix organization.’
He was first arrested in June 1982 after dealing with 100 kg of cocaine! The drug had been smuggled through the San Ysidro border, a district of the city of San Diego. Despite the arrest, he managed to escape custody.
In the following years, Benjamín continued to smuggle cocaine through his cartel until the first of June, when the US Department of the Treasury sanctioned him under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act. This made it illegal for any US company or citizen to do business with him and froze all his assets in the US.
Benjamin was arrested two years later, in March 2002, by the Mexican Army.
Did You Know?
To this day, Benjamín is still serving his sentence at USP Lee in Virginia.
6. Carlos Alberto Arellano Félix (August 20, 1955 – present)
Current Age (as of January 2023): 67 years, 5 months, 7 days
Birthplace: Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico.
Member of Tijuana Cartel: Indirectly – helped launder money; works as a surgeon
Carlos Alberto Arellano Féliz was born in 1955 and is currently 67 years old. Unlike most of his brothers, he decided to study to become a surgeon and attended the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara.
Similarly to sisters Alicia and Enedina, Carlos was responsible for money laundering operations. To do so, he relied on several companies in Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Mazatlán. These mainly consisted of nightclubs, real estate, retailing shops, and money exchange houses.
Did You Know?
Carlos is one of the few brothers who managed to escape prison. To this day, he is not wanted by the US and has no criminal charges in Mexico. Carlos is currently working as a surgeon.
5. Eduardo Arellano Félix (October 11, 1956 – present)
Age at time of death: 66 years, 3 months, 16 days
Birthplace: Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico.
Member of Tijuana Cartel: Yes
Not surprisingly, Eduardo was also one of the members of the Tijuana cartel. Born in 1956, Eduardo was considered one of the most sophisticated minds behind smuggling tons of marijuana and cocaine from Mexico to the US. For this reason, he was wanted by both Mexican and US authorities.
When in 2006, his brother Francisco Javier Arellano was arrested, he took the leadership of the cartel together with his sister Enedina.
Similarly to his brother Benjamin, in June 2004, the US Department of the Treasury sanctioned him under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, also known as Kingpin Act. Eduardo was arrested soon after, in October 2008, by the Mexican Federal Police in Tijuana. At the time, the US State Department offered $5,000,000 to anyone who shared useful information about his hiding place.
The police did not manage to handcuff him easily as, during the arrest, Eduardo decided to fight, despite having his 11-year-old daughter next to him. On the same day of his arrest, the Mexican authorities also captured Luis Ramirez Vázquez, El Güero Camarón.
Despite this, the Tijuana cartel managed to keep operating his smuggling business and is today led by Eduardo’s nephew, Luis Fernando Sánchez Arellano.
Did You Know?
Eduardo was sentenced to 15 years in prison, which was then reduced to eight. After this period, he was relocated to Mexico, where, in August 2021, he was transferred to the Federal Social Readaptation Center No. 1, a maximum security prison in Almoloya de Juárez.
4. Enedina Arellano Félix (April 12, 1961 – present)
Current Age (as of January 2023):
Birthplace: Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico
Member of Tijuana Cartel: Yes
Also known as La Jefa, La Madrina, and La Narcomami, Enedina was actively involved in the Tijuana cartel. During the 90s, her brothers mainly led the cartel, while Enedina stayed in the background helping with money laundering and financial administration. However, after the arrest of her brother Eduardo in 2008, she became the official leader.
During this period, she managed the financial aspects of the criminal organization and led the Tijuana cartel with Luis Fernando until 2014, when the authorities also captured him. Despite this, La Narcomami managed to keep the cartel in business thanks to her contact with Colombian suppliers.
In 2000, the US Department of the Treasury sanctioned her under the Kingpin Act.
Did You Know?
Enedina is portrayed in Narcos: Mexico by Mayra Hermosillo.
3. Ramón Eduardo Arellano Félix (August 31, 1964 – February 10, 2002)
Age at time of death: 37 Years Old
Birthplace: Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico.
Member of Tijuana Cartel: Yes
If you’re reading this article, you probably know who Ramón Eduardo Arellano Félix is, but let us give you some juicy information about his life.
Ramón was born in 1964 and died in February 2002 at the young age of 37 years old. Before his death, he served as the main leader of the Tijuana cartel and was considered one of its most ruthless members. In fact, the authorities believe that during his leadership, he ordered the murder of several people.
To give you an example, the Mexican police think he was the main person behind the 1998 massacre of twelve members of a family who lived outside of Ensenada in Baja, California. The family was probably related to an associate of the Arellano Félix Cartel.
Ramón died on February 10, 2002. On this day, he was stopped due to a traffic infraction by a Mexican police officer known as Ángel Antonio Árias Torres. Ramón did not think twice and shot the police officer twice in the chest. The policeman quickly responded with a single bullet in Ramón’s head, resulting in his death.
Similarly to his sister, Enedina, Ramón is also present in the series Narcos: Mexico. His character is portrayed by the actor Manuel Masala.
2. Luis Fernando Arellano Félix (January 26, 1966 – present)
Current Age (as of January 2023): 57 years, 1 day
Luis Fernando Arellano Félix is one of Ramón’s brothers. Unlike his siblings, he managed to keep his life private, so we don’t have much information about him.
1. Francisco Javier Arellano Félix (December 11, 1969 – present)
Current Age (as of January 2023): 53 years, 1 month, 16 days
Birthplace: Mexico
Member of Tijuana Cartel: Yes
photo source: commons.wikimedia.org
Francisco Javier is Ramón Arellano Félix’s youngest sibling, born in 1969. Also known as El Tigrillo, in June 2004, he was sanctioned under the Kingpin Act, which prohibited him from legally doing business with all US organizations and citizens.
Francisco was captured in August 2006 by the Coast Guardsmen while fishing on international waters, roughly 25 km off the coast of Baja California Sur. Similarly to his brother Eduardo, the US authorities had offered $5 million for any information leading to his hiding place. Still, it seems that the people that helped the police were not interested in the money.
In September 2007, he was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Did You Know?
In June 2015, his sentence was reduced to 23 years and six months due to his willingness to collaborate with the authorities.
