"El Armadillo" for Borderland Beat
Photo from El Mexicano Diario
Messages have surfaced containing threats from Alejandro Lopez Guzman, believed to be in retaliation for the murder of influencer Gail Castro — brother of Marco Eduardo Castro Cárdenas, better known as Markitos Toys.
Gail was killed on March 28 at Hotel Villa Marina restaurant in Ensenada, Baja California. He was shot 15 times while leaving dinner.
Markitos, who boasts 5.3 million Instagram followers and 4.2 million YouTube subscribers, frequently shares content showcasing his family’s luxurious lifestyle. Members of the Castro family were named as targets by La Mayiza in leaflets dropped in January. The messages accused 25 influencers of working with Los Chapitos and included:
• Markitos Toys
• His brother Kevin Castro and Kevin’s wife Ana Gastélum
• His sister Mayve Castro and her husband Paul Baldomero
• Gail Castro
Gail is one of several influencers linked to Los Chapitos who have been killed in recent months, including with Miguel Vivanco, aka "El Jasper" Justin Paul "El Pinky" and Leovardo Aispuro Soto "Gordo Peruci"
These killings echo past cartel violence against musicians.
Markitos' parents' house was also attacked in January, and restaurants allegedly linked to Markitos were set on fire.
There now seems to be a response from Los Chapitos, with least two messages attributed to Alejandro Lopez Guzman being found in Ensenada, stating:
"You got family involved and broke the code. We've located your relatives in Querétaro and Puebla. You're going to lose a lot for your desperation. ATTE: ALG"
Local police found one message on the walls of CBTIS 41, a high school in Ensenada, according to El Mexicano Diario. Police have notified the state prosecutors office to investigate. The same message was also found on a bridge near El Ciprés military garrison according to Hiptex.
There is not a clear photo of the one left at the bridge but it is likely the one above. Borderland Beat has recently reported on Lopez Guzman's threats against the Governor of Durango. "ALG" is clearly choosing to become more visible. As we have written, Alejandro is allegedly a high ranking member of Los Chapitos and cousin to Ovidio Guzman Lopez.
Analysis
Many observers are skeptical ALG exists, I personally lean toward him being authentic as he runs the Instagram account @elmasjoven1.0, and after following for a while I can conclude the following:
He has been active for years
He appears pretty consistently to be the same person in his posts and stories, despite not showing his full face.
Other writers in this space such as Mica Trevino and Illicit Investigations have written about ALG
He is always posting new content that can't be reverse image searched as far as I have tried
He is followed by other Sinaloans who make up the younger membership of Los Chapitos
Los Chapitos would not allow someone to use their family's name and launch these kinds of threats if they were not authentic