Zetas leader, convicted in Yucatan massacre, dies in prison from COVID-19

A gang leader who was convicted of beheading 12 people in Yucatan in 2008 has died in federal prison after contracting the COVID-19 virus.

Moisés Escamilla May, alias “El Gordo,” was a Los Zetas boss who orchestrated the massacre, police said. He died in a Jalisco hospital after reporting respiratory problems May 6. He died after two days, said the state health ministry.

He was serving a 37-year sentence for organized crime, including his role in the decapitations.

All but one of the handcuffed, naked and decapitated bodies were dumped in a field in the outskirts of Merida. The victims showed signs of torture. Yucatan state officials said a 12th decapitated body was found later about 120 miles south of the capital.

The Reuters news agency, citing unnamed police officials, reported that the bodies were marked with star signs and tattooed with the letter Z.

Escamilla May 45, originally from Campeche, was arrested in Cancun in September 2008, one month after the bodies were found.

The other decapitated body was found in Buctzotz, 95 kilometers / 59 miles northeast of Merida, inside a plastic bag.

Police said the gang members were responsible for cocaine distribution in Cancun.

In his 11 years and 5 months of confinement, he never presented any health problem, according to the health ministry. The prison, administered by the Jalisco government, serves 74 inmates infected with coronavirus.

Sources: Archives, Agencies via Sipse

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