Los Ardillos Map & Profile 2026: Leaders, Territory and U.S. Charges

What official records and reporting say about the Los Ardillos: who leads it, where it is reported to operate, and how the U.S. has targeted it. Territory and leadership change fast, so each item links to its source and shows dates as reported. Allegations are as stated by the source; people who are charged are presumed innocent until convicted.

All cartel profiles

Names and aliases

• The group is known as Los Ardillos, Spanish for The Squirrels. [Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada · news/research]

Origins

• Los Ardillos emerged after the Beltrán Leyva Organization began fragmenting in 2010, one of the new groups fighting over former BLO territory in Guerrero. [InSight Crime, 2015-05-01 · news/research]
• Canadian and U.S. reference works list Los Ardillos among the splinter groups of the Beltrán Leyva Organization. [Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada · news/research]
• In late 2013 Los Ardillos began directly challenging Los Rojos' control of Chilapa, escalating a turf war over the area's heroin zones. [InSight Crime, 2015-05-01 · news/research]

Leadership

• A May 2026 Milenio criminal-leader profile identifies Celso Ortega Jiménez, known as La Vela or El Ardillo Mayor, as the group's principal boss in Guerrero, commanding influence across ten municipalities. (as of 2026-05-14) [Milenio Diario via Efinf, 2026-05-14 · news/research]
• The same Milenio profile places Jorge Iván Ortega, alias El Barco, as second-in-command and Antonio, alias La Parota, in the third tier of the group's hierarchy. (as of 2026-05-14) [Milenio Diario via Efinf, 2026-05-14 · news/research]

Factions and splits

• The group is described as a small trafficking and extortion organization based in the municipalities of Mochtitlán and Quechultenango, historically the only part of El Centro not controlled by Los Rojos. (as of 2026-09-30) [Wilson Center Mexico Institute · news/research]

Allies and rivals

• Los Rojos are Los Ardillos' long-standing rivals; the two BLO splinters have fought over Chilapa and its heroin turf since late 2013. (as of 2026-09-30) [Brookings Institution, 2019-03-22 · news/research]
• InSight Crime's Chris Kyle assessed that Los Ardillos were the aggressors in Chilapa and had co-opted security forces into pursuing their rivals, Los Rojos. (as of 2015-05-01) [InSight Crime, 2015-05-01 · news/research]

What it does

• Chilapa is strategically vital: it sits in the foothills of a major poppy-growing area and holds one of the only gas stations for miles, making it a logistical hub for the drug trade. [Brookings Institution, 2019-03-22 · news/research]
• Control of Chilapa means control of immensely profitable heroin production zones in the surrounding mountains. [InSight Crime, 2015-05-01 · news/research]

U.S. designations, sanctions and charges

• Los Ardillos was not among the eight Latin American criminal organizations designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations by the U.S. in February 2025. [Associated Press via SRN News, 2025-03-27 · news/research]

Key events

• Townspeople believed the 2015 self-defense force that seized Chilapa was actually Los Ardillos fighting Los Rojos for the heroin turf. [Brookings Institution, 2019-03-22 · news/research]
• In early May 2015, some 300 armed civilians seized Chilapa after a mayoral candidate's assassination; the military and police present stood by for days, and at least 11 of those detained were never seen again. [Brookings Institution, 2019-03-22 · news/research]

Reported presence by Mexican state

Last reviewed: September 30, 2026. Territory, leadership and advisories change; tell us about errors via our corrections page.