The brother‑in‑law of the leader of the Special Forces Faction of Los Avendaño, Raúl Madrid Peña, “El Rauli,” is alleged to have reached an agreement with the coordinator and virtual candidate for governor representing the MORENA‑PT‑PVEM alliance in Baja California Sur.
Ciudad Constitución, Baja California Sur.—The presence of the Sinaloa Cartel (CDS) has cast a shadow over the campaign of Manuel Cota Cárdenas, recently appointed coordinator of MORENA, PT, and PVEM and the coalition’s virtual candidate for governor of Baja California Sur. The controversy emerged after Cota reportedly entered into a political arrangement with Raúl Madrid Peña, “El Rauli,” brother‑in‑law of Héctor Manuel Avendaño Ojeda, “El Meño,” leader of the Special Forces Faction of Los Avendaño within the Sinaloa Cartel. NoticiasBaja California
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Madrid Peña, a relative of the cartel figure, seeks to become the candidate for municipal president of Comondú under the MORENA‑PT‑PVEM alliance.
The brother‑in‑law of “El Meño”—who previously served as director of acquisitions and procurement for the XVIII Municipality of Comondú and acted as a political operator in the region for La Paz mayor Milena Paola Quiroga Romero—is formally identified by U.S. security and intelligence agencies as the brother‑in‑law of Héctor Manuel Avendaño Ojeda, a key financial operator for former cartel leader Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada.
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https://metropolimx.com/leader-of-los-avedano-faction-extradited-to-the-u-s/
The Avendaño Network and OFAC
The political trajectory of “El Rauli” resonates not only within MORENA’s internal structures but also within the files of the United States Department of the Treasury.
In October 2011, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned the criminal structure associated with the Los Avendaño faction, identifying a money‑laundering and narcotics‑logistics network operating through a Special Forces cell aligned with “La Mayiza.”
International investigations place two strategic members of the network directly in Ciudad Constitución, municipality of Comondú:
– Santos Arcelia Avendaño Ojeda, sister of “El Meño.” – Raúl Madrid Peña (“El Rauli”), her husband and current aspirant to the Comondú mayoralty.
In the Santo Domingo Valley, U.S. agencies identified properties, lots, yards, and ranches registered under the names of front men and relatives linked to the organization.
On July 17, 2025, Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office (FGR) completed the extradition of “El Meño” to the United States at the Mexico City International Airport (AICM), following a request from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on charges of criminal conspiracy and drug‑related offenses. Consultaratlas
Detained in Culiacán, Sinaloa, in 2016, “El Meño” led—alongside his brothers Sergio and Martín Gaudencio (alias “El Caguamo,” now deceased)—a network responsible for coordinating the arrival of cocaine shipments from Colombia through international maritime routes, later smuggling them into U.S. territory.
