Jacob Diaz
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
Not only did he socialize with Cardenas at exclusive nightclubs in Matamoros, his wife's brother was one of the founding members of Los Zetas.
Diaz pulled the Ford F-150 onto the driveway of an isolated rental home a smidgen outside of Ocala's city limits.
His passenger, Olegario Hernandez, a slender, tan, illegal Mexican national in his mid-thirties, liked the location.
He liked the solitude, the privacy.
Shortly after graduating in May 2004, Diaz had been approached by a distant cousin of Ole's, a guy that lived in Diaz's former neighborhood, regarding a job.
It paid decent money, so he decided to take the job driving Ole around.
He didn't speak English and Diaz didn't know Spanish, but he agreed to learn.
By the end of the summer, the 19-year-old had a passing knowledge of the language.
He was only vaguely aware of the illegality of what Ole was involved in.
As the months passed and Diaz's Spanish improved, he realized that Ole was renting inexpensive houses for the purpose of storing money and cash.
Later, as the drugs arrived, Diaz pieced together that Ole was somehow associated with the Gulf cartel.
The property manager showed up minutes after they'd arrived.
Diaz explained the lease to Ole, and he signed.
They swapped the keys to the stash house for cash, and Ole was in business.
By 2005, the Gulf cartel's fortunes had taken a turn.
Osiel Cardenas, the cartel's embattled leader, was sitting in a prison cell, specifically because he'd underestimated Chapo Guzman.
Compounding Cardenas' problem, he had overestimated the loyalty of Los Zetas, whose alliance with the Gulf began to sour following his arrest.
Under Guzman's leadership, the Sinaloa Federation struck back at the Gulf and its allies, utilizing a two-pronged strategy.
Guzman handled the treachery, and Arturo Beltranleva handled the violence.
Specifically, Guzman, through his lawyer, Humberto Loya Castro, began supplying the DEA with strategic information on his rivals, deftly manipulating American and Mexican law enforcement into wiping out the leadership of the Federation's enemies.