Gunmen Dressed as Clowns Kill Mexican Cartel Leader
There's nothing scarier than a clown. Except, possibly, a clown who is pointing a gun at you. Which was the unfortunate (for him) last image seen by former drug kingpin Francisco Rafael Arellano Felix as he was vacationing with family in Baja California this week.
Felix, 63, was the former leader of a massive Tijuana cartel which ruthlessly controls the drug trade along the Mexican and U.S. border, starting in the 1990s. Felix was eventually caught in 1993 and had to relinquish his drug empire. In 2008 he was released from prison, only to find himself on the wrong end of a clown's gun during a large family party.
"He was hit by two bullets, one in the chest and one in the head," Isai Arias, a Baja California state government official told the BBC.
His sister, Enedina, took over the cartel during Felix's incarceration, and her son Fernando, also known as "The Engineer," now runs the cartel, which remains a major player in the drug war which has claimed the lives of more than 60,000 Mexicans since 2006.
Police are searching for the gunmen and have not discovered a motive for the murder. We're guessing Felix pissed off the powerful Payaso cartel.