Joselyn Alejandra Niño

Joselyn Alejandra Niño (1990s – 13 April 2015), commonly referred to by her alias La Flaca (English: The Skinny One), was a Mexican suspected assassin of the Gulf Cartel, a criminal group based in Tamaulipas, Mexico. She gained popularity on social media on 5 January 2015, when an anonymous person uploaded a picture of her posing with a firearm in an organized crime leak page. The post identified her as a Gulf Cartel member based out of Río Bravo. As a foot soldier, she was responsible for fighting off cells of Los Metros, a rival faction of Los Ciclones, a Gulf Cartel subgroup she belonged to.

Joselyn Alejandra Niño
Born	Joselyn Alejandra Niño 1990s Mexico
Died	13 April 2015 (aged late teens or early 20s) Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico
Nationality	Mexican
Other names	La Flaca
Occupation	Assassin
Employer	Gulf Cartel (suspected)

She was found dead on 13 April 2015, when Mexican authorities discovered her dismembered body inside an ice cooler at a parking lot in Matamoros. Her body had visible signs of torture. She was identified by her distinctive tattoo on her forearm displaying "Niño", her surname. At the scene, investigators also found another dismembered female and a decapitated man who were reportedly also members of Los Ciclones. A written message at the scene stated she was killed by Los Metros.

Career

Joselyn Alejandra Niño was a suspected assassin of the Gulf Cartel, a criminal group based in Tamaulipas.^[1] She was commonly referred by her alias La Flaca (English: The Skinny One).^[a][5] This nickname was given to her by the Gulf Cartel for her slim body. This moniker is also a reference to Our Lady of Holy Death, a female skeleton saint venerated by thousands in Mexico and popular among some drug traffickers.^[6] Organized crime groups in Mexico often recruit females like Niño for their build and girly looks to disguise them from rival gangsters and law enforcement.^[7] Women like Niño sometimes begin their criminal careers as organized crime lookouts or prostitutes before they climb their way up to foot soldier ranks.^[8]

Niño gained notoriety on social media on 5 January 2015,^[9] when an anonymous online user leaked a picture of her to Valor por Tamaulipas, a citizen journalist page that post security updates and organized crime leaks. Her pictures made it to Facebook and Twitter.^[3] The picture identified her as a Gulf Cartel hitwoman based out of Río Bravo, Tamaulipas;^[10] she was smiling in front of the camera and posing with a firearm and bullet proof vest.^[b][12] She was resting her sunglasses on her head and was wearing a golden necklace.^[13] The picture's background stirred commentary on the apparent low-income lifestyle of cartel-employed assassins, which seemed to contradict the notion that those working for organized crime groups in Mexico live luxuriously.^[14] In addition, others discussed in the comment section whether or not lifestyles like Niño's were worth the risk when organized crime bosses reportedly enjoy most of the luxuries.^[3][14] Her picture was shared more than 40 times and had over 1,500 likes on Facebook.^[15]

According to investigators, the leak was likely done by a member of Los Metros, a Gulf Cartel faction that was at war with Los Ciclones, the faction that Niño reportedly belonged to. Infighting between these groups had started in January 2015. They suspect this was done to weaken Los Ciclones and promote more leaks of its members on social media platforms. Throughout early 2015, members of the Gulf Cartel leaked information of their rivals on social media to display them publicly in hopes that they could be arrested by security forces or killed by rival gangsters. Niño's faction was headed by suspected Gulf Cartel leader Ángel Eduardo Prado Rodríguez (alias "Ciclón 7"); Los Metros faction was headed by suspected leaders José Hugo Rodríguez Sánchez (alias "El Gafe"), Juan Manuel Loisa Salinas (alias "Comandante Toro"), and Juan Francisco Carrizales (alias "Metro 98").^[14]

Niño worked under Ciclón 7 and was responsible for fighting off Los Metros for at least four months. Her group was entasked with preventing incursions of Los Metros in Río Bravo from Reynosa, Tamaulipas. Río Bravo, where Niño was based, was mostly a turf controlled by Los Metros, which meant that Los Ciclones were at greater risk when conducting operations there. When Niño's picture was leaked on social media, she was identified by members of Los Metros. Sometime between 12 and 13 April, Los Metros captured her along with two accomplices from Los Ciclones.^[14]

Death

On 13 April 2015,^[12] Mexican authorities in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, discovered Niño's dismembered body inside an ice cooler.^[15] The cooler was abandoned at a Soriana parking lot.^[c][18] The rest of her remains were found inside plastic bags.^[14] At the scene, the perpetrators also left another dismembered female corpse and a decapitated man.^[19] Investigators suspect that the two people killed with Niño were also members of Los Ciclones.^[20] The bodies showed signs of torture, likely done to extract information of their criminal activities. They were then believed to have been executed with a headshot and dismembered.^[14] Investigators were able to identify her remains due to her distinctive tattoo with the word "Niño", her surname, on her forearm.^[16] She was estimated to be in her late teens or early twenties.^[d][21]

Pictures of the dismembered bodies were first posted on Twitter by Los Metros.^[22] The pictures were intended to be a warning for Niño's faction.^[23] In one of the pictures, Niño was shown beaten on the ground with the two other victims prior to her dismemberment. In a second photo, her remains were seen inside the cooler.^[24][25] Alongside the bodies, Los Metros left a written message threatening Los Ciclones. "This will happen to all the filthy who support Los Ciclones ... Keep sending these fucking assholes", the message read. The message also criticized Los Ciclones for using female foot soldiers, and told them they were going to be killing more people in their turf. The message was signed by a member of Los Metros who goes by the moniker "65".^[26]

See also

• Mexican Drug War

Sources

Footnotes

1. She is not the first female organized crime assassin to have this alias.^[2] There are at least three recorded cases of other women having the same nickname.^[3][4]
2. Another source stated it was a Kevlar jacket.^[11]
3. This Soriana is known as Soriana Lauro Villar.^[16] The parking lot is close to the Veterans International Bridge at Los Tomates that connects Matamoros with Brownsville, Texas, U.S.^[17]
4. Based on her approximate age at the time of her death, she was born in the 1990s.^[21]

References

1. "La Flaca, sicaria mexicana, es encontrada sin vida". El Debate de Sinaloa (in Spanish). 20 April 2015. from the original on 13 May 2016.
2. "Cuerpo de sicaria es desmembrado y metido en una hielera". Global Media (in Spanish). 4 September 2017. from the original on 19 November 2018.
3. Daly, Michael (16 April 2015). "Curse of the Cartel's Skinny Hitwoman". The Daily Beast. from the original on 2 October 2017.
4. "El Cártel de Las Flacas... el sanguinario y peligroso grupo de jóvenes mujeres asesinas". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 12 November 2018. from the original on 19 November 2018.
5. "Mutilan a sicaria que adquirió fama en redes sociales". El Diario de Juárez (in Spanish). 20 April 2015. from the original on 16 April 2018.
6. Iaccino, Ludovica (20 April 2015). "Mexico's drug cartels: Female assassin 'La Flaca' killed and stuffed in beer cooler by rival gang". International Business Times. from the original on 12 November 2018.
7. "Jóvenes sicarias, otra realidad del narco en la frontera mexicana". Zócalo Saltillo (in Spanish). April 2015. from the original on 18 November 2018.
8. Leighton, Heather (4 April 2017). "Ruthless, but charming female members are taking over Mexico's drug cartels". The Houston Chronicle. from the original on 9 September 2018.
9. "Hallan a 'La Flaca', sicaria del Cártel del Golfo, desmembrada en Matamoros". SDP Noticias (in Spanish). 20 April 2015. from the original on 23 April 2017.
10. "Identifican cuerpo desmembrado en Matamoros, Tamaulipas". El Siglo de Torreón (in Spanish). 21 April 2015. from the original on 6 July 2015.
11. Marquez, RJ (21 April 2015). "Mexican cartel hitwoman 'La Flaca' killed, stuffed in beer cooler". KSAT-TV. from the original on 28 June 2017.
12. "Hallan descuartizada en una hielera a 'La Flaca', sicaria del Cártel del Golfo". Proceso (in Spanish). 21 April 2015. from the original on 21 March 2018.
13. "Encuentran sin vida a sicaria mexicana conocida como La Flaca". El Sol de Nayarit (in Spanish). 20 April 2015. from the original on 24 April 2015.
14. Pilatos, Poncho (March 2017). "La verdadera historia de Joselyn Alejandra Niño alias 'La Flaka', integrante de 'Los Ciclones' del CDG de Tamaulipas". Columna Tamaulipas (in Spanish). from the original on 18 April 2017.
15. Salinas, Rebecca (20 April 2015). "Mexican cartel hitwoman 'La Flaca' found dismembered, stuffed in cooler". San Antonio Express-News. from the original on 9 April 2018.
16. "Identifican cuerpo desmembrado encontrado en Matamoros". El Universal (in Spanish). 21 April 2015. from the original on 5 August 2015.
17. "'Las flacas': Las sicarias del cártel". La Opinión (in Spanish). 22 April 2015. from the original on 19 November 2018.
18. "Breve vida de sicaria". La Polaka (in Spanish). 21 April 2015. from the original on 26 April 2016.
19. "Cuerpo de sicaria es desmembrado y metido en una hielera". Excélsior (in Spanish). 21 April 2015. from the original on 17 March 2018.
20. "Cuerpo de sicaria es desmembrada y metido en una hielera". El Heraldo (in Spanish). 22 April 2015. from the original on 28 April 2015.
21. "'Skinny girl' assassin killed, stuffed in cooler". Yahoo News. 19 April 2015. from the original on 18 November 2018.
22. "Hallan descuartizada en una hielera a 'La Flaca', sicaria del Cártel del Golfo". La Crónica de Tierra Blanca (in Spanish). 2015. from the original on 19 November 2018.
23. Llenas, Bryan (1 January 2017). "Gruesome fate of 'La Flaca' hit-woman points to 'state of anarchy' in Mexican border cities; U.S. congressman demands change". Fox News Channel. from the original on 18 November 2018.
24. Hoffman, Chelsea (22 April 2015). "Who Killed La Flaca? Female Mexican Assassin Found Dismembered". Inquisitr. from the original on 26 October 2016.
25. "CDG Matamoros: dismembered remains identified as Joselyn Niño, 'La Flaca'". Borderland Beat. 14 April 2015. from the original on 21 April 2018.
26. "Descuartizan a La Flaca". Vallarta Uno (in Spanish). 22 April 2015. from the original on 18 November 2018.

Further reading

• Deibert, Michael (2014). In the Shadow of Saint Death: The Gulf Cartel and the Price of America's Drug War in Mexico. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 336. ISBN 978-1493010653.