A pirate flag and an eagle are tattooed on the skin of the naked cat. The animal must have suffered and panicked, animal lovers say. But that must have been a concern for the gang members. Anyone who tortures and eliminates rivals will also have no problem tattooing a cat. No matter how loudly the animal moaned and must have panicked.
The “narco cat,” as the $2,000 Sphynx cat is dubbed because it belonged to a drug cartel, was a kind of trophy the incarcerated gang members wanted to prove they were above the strict rules of the prison.
Secret tunnel
In recent months, sweepings have taken place in the prison, where 17 people were killed last year in fighting between rival gangs, during which all cells were thoroughly checked. That resulted in surprising finds: a mechanical bull, a pair of sneakers worth more than 1,000 euros, a whole series of loudspeakers and a secret tunnel to smuggle in all those forbidden items.
But the most important or most remarkable discovery was the tattooed cat owned by the leader of the Los Mexicles drug gang and who bears the same tattoos as the other gang members.
Secret address
That gang leader was Ernesto Alfredo Piñón de la Cruz, better known as “El Neto”. In an attempt to free him a few months ago, ten guards were killed and at least thirty inmates escaped. ‘El Neto’ also managed to escape, but he was shot dead by the police during a firefight.
The cat has meanwhile been ‘released’ from prison and has been transferred to an undisclosed address. An animal rights organization was commissioned to find a new owner and did it thoroughly. Several candidates who had applied were screened. The animal has since moved to its new owner and must be kept indoors. After all, it is feared that rival gangs could otherwise kidnap the cat to tease the members of Los Mexicles. Mexico has been fighting a bloody war between drug cartels for years. With gruesome executions as a result.