José de Jesús Méndez Vargas

José de Jesús Méndez Vargas (a.k.a. El Chango (English: The Baboon)) (born 28 February 1974) is a Mexican drug lord and leader of the La Familia drug cartel, headquartered in the state of Michoacán. Méndez took control of the cartel after its former leader, Nazario Moreno, who was killed in a shootout with Mexican Federal Police on December 9, 2010. His protection was the responsibility of twelve gunmen he called the "Twelve Apostles. Méndez was captured at a road checkpoint on June 21, 2011 by Mexican Federal police in the state of Aguascalientes. The Mexican government had offered a $30 million pesos ($2.1 million USD) bounty for information leading to Méndez's capture. . Before his capture he was hiding in the states of San Luis...