The story of Enrique "El Cholo" Sánchez Martínez is a pivotal chapter in the history of modern Mexican cartel warfare. It represents one of the most significant internal fractures within the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG).



Enrique Sánchez Martínez was indeed once the right hand of Nemesio "El Mencho" Oseguera Cervantes. He served as a high-ranking commander, overseeing operations in the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area.

**THE BETRAYAL**


*The fracture with CJNG occurred in March 2017*,  triggered by a specific event:  the murder of "***El Colombiano***," a top financial operator for CJNG. 

El Cholo ordered the hit and allegedly stole a significant amount of the cartel's funds.
*This was more than a financial theft*; ***it was a challenge to Mencho’s absolute authority***. El Cholo subsequently formed  **Cártel Nueva Plaza** (CNP), *taking a contingent of loyalist soldiers with him who were dissatisfied with Mencho’s leadership style*.


CNP was born out of an excision from CJNG and from its beginnings was at war with the cartel


**WAR TACTICSW**


The war was "asymmetrical". Since their cartel (CNP) was smaller than  CJNG, El Cholo and his men  used a tactic known as ***calentar la plaza (heating up the territory)*** and ***blame shifting***


**Crimes and Tactics***


***The Strategy***: By committing high-profile, gruesome crimes in CJNG territory, CNP intended to draw massive federal and military attention onto Mencho’s operations, disrupting his business. Often these crimes were blamed on CJNG, to cause public's dislike and to prompt government intervention against the cartel.

*For instance, they frequently left "narcomantas" (banners) or orchestrated scenes designed to look like CJNG hits*



**Geographical Divide**

The conflict turned Guadalajara and Tlaquepaque into a war zone.
***CJNG***: Maintained the outskirts and rural entry points into the state.
***Cártel Nueva Plaza***: Held strongholds in parts of the Guadalajara city center, Tlaquepaque, and Zapopan, ***often supported by local police officers who had flipped their allegiance from Mencho to El Cholo***.



**THE END** 


***Cártel Nueva Plaza lasted roughly four years (2017–2021)***. *Its end was marked by one of the most dramatic displays of cartel retribution in recent years*.


***The Set-up***: *Mencho’s intelligence network discovered that El Cholo was moving with minimal security, likely relying on "protected" routes overseen by his own bought-off police*.


***The Handover***: CJNG managed to bribe or intimidate the very police officers El Cholo trusted. One day in March 2021, as El Cholo was walking outside alone, some police officers arrested him. But, instead of taking him to the police station, they drove him directly to a CJNG safehouse.


**The Execution**


***On March 18, 2021***

a video surfaced on social media showing *El Cholo sitting in front of six armed, masked men*. He looked tired but calm as he "confessed" to his betrayal and
claimed responsibility for various acts of violence intended to destabilize the region, including the 2018 grenade attack on the U.S. Consulate in Guadalajara (though "confessions" given under such circumstances hold no value, since the cartel members write the confessions themselves and force their victims to read them.).

Hours later, his body was found wrapped in plastic on a park bench in the center of Tlaquepaque, pinned with two knives holding signs that read "The Traitor."


Forensic evidence suggested that he had been severely tortured before being shot. Rumors have it that the torture lasted days and that Mencho himself was present and giving orders.


**CNP After El Cholo**



While some remnants of Cartel Nueva Plaza continued to fight in a fragmented state (often aligning with the Sinaloa Cartel for survival), ***the organization essentially collapsed***  with El Cholo's death. Its new leader Erick Valencia was arrested in 2022 decreeing the final dissolution on CNP.

A Must- Know Tale For The New "Students" of Narcotraffickers: The Real Life Story of El Cholo ~ When Mencho's Biggest Wish Was Revenge (English)