A notorious Mexican cartel boss was gunned down in a shootout with police — after pulling off a hit at a local cockfight that left two dead and other wounded, according to reports.
Jose “El Chabelo” Isabel, the top honcho for the Sinaloa Cartel in the Mexican city of Manzanillo, got into a fatal shootout with cops after he and his cohort pulled off the cockfight bloodbath on Sunday, according to the Spanish-language news outlet Excelsior.
Isabel’s crew stormed into the clandestine arena in the Las Parotas neighborhood and opened fire on the crowd, killing two before fleeing the scene, the reports said.
A Mexican national police squad caught up with the gunmen, leading to a wild shootout that left Isabel and his unidentified accomplice dead, the outlet reported.
Isabel, believed to be a “plaza boss” for the cartel in the city, was already wanted on a homicide warrant before the fatal encounter, Latin Times said in a report.
Prosecutors in Colima have not released details on the victims other than to identify Isabel among them.
National data show that Colima, part of the country’s Pacific coastline, reported 623 homicides between January and October this year, Latin Times said.
Colima, which is smaller than the state of Delaware, has a massive murder rate of 105 slayings per 100,000 residents — five times higher than the national average for Mexico, according to the outlet.
