Texis Cartel
Cártel de Texis | |
| Founded | 1990s |
|---|---|
| Founders |
|
| Years active | 1990s–2018 |
| Territory | Northern El Salvador |
| Membership | Unknown |
| Activities | Drug trafficking, kidnapping, extortion, money laundering, prostitution, murder |
| Allies | Colombian drug cartels Mexican drug cartels |
The Texis Cartel (Spanish: Cártel de Texis) was a Salvadoran criminal organization which specialized in drug trafficking operations. The cartel transported drugs manufactured by Colombian drug cartels through northern El Salvador towards North America. The Texis Cartel was allegedly founded in the 1990s by businessman José Adán Salazar Umaña (known by his alias "Chepe Diablo"), politician Juan Umaña Samayoa, and businessman Roberto Herrera. The cartel bribed Salvadoran law enforcement officers and judicial officials to help its leaders evade identification by Salvadoran authorities.
Herrera was arrested in 2013 and sentenced to 3 years imprisonment in 2015 for his role in the Texis Cartel. Salvadoran authorities effectively dismantled the Texis Cartel in 2018 after it arrested several of its alleged leaders, including Salazar Umaña and Umaña Samayoa. In 2021, a Salvadoran court found both Salazar Umaña and Umaña Samayoa not guilty of money laundering relating to the Salvadoran government's investigation into the Texis Cartel; both were released.