The Rise & Downfall of Mexico's Most Powerful Female Drug Cartel Boss, Melissa 'La China' Calderon

 

A feared female drug cartel boss known for kidnapping her victims and dumping their dismembered bodies on their families' doorsteps has been shopped to police by her own hitman lover who became horrified by the monster she had become.

 

Melissa 'La China' Calderon, described by her assassin boyfriend and second-in-command Pedro ‘El Chino’ Gomez as 'maniacal' and a 'control-freak', is accused of 180 murders. 

 

Mexico's most powerful female narco was captured on Saturday after El Chino traded information with authorities, including the locations of his girlfriend's secret burial sites, in exchange for a reduced sentence.

 

 

Melissa Margarita Calderon Ojeda, 30, known by her gang nickname ‘La China’ (The Asian), became involved in organised crime in 2005 when she began working for the Damaso Cartel.

 

The organisation has ties to the Sinaloa Cartel which operates in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur - one of the country's primary regions for drug smuggling - and is headed-up by fugitive Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman.

 

She rose quickly in the ranks because of her ruthlessness and fierce temper, until she was made commander of its armed wing in 2008.

 

 

Taking charge of the organisation’s territory war, she imposed her authority over state capital La Paz and the popular tourist resort Cabo San Lucas, visited by hundreds of thousands of people each year.

 

She allegedly began orchestrating murders and taking control of vast swathes of the city. Murders in Baja California Sur tripled over the seven years she was at the helm of the cartel’s armed wing.

 

La China became infamous for kidnapping her murder victims from their family homes and returning their dismembered bodies to their doorsteps as a warning to the local community.

 

 

Despite the male-dominated narco culture, she inspired loyalty in her troops and is said to have handed out free bags of cocaine to those she thought had performed well.

 

In June, she was asked to step down from her post following the return of Abel Quintero, a seasoned assassin recently released from prison.

 

Furious at her demotion, she defected from Damaso Cartel and announced the formation of her own criminal organisation.

 

Given her already substantial territories in La Paz, she declared war on her former associates for control of the city, as well as the popular tourist resort of Cabo San Lucas close-by.

 

 

With herself as the head, El Chino took the role of second in command, Sergio ‘El Scar’ Beltran became chief assassin, Rogelio ‘El Tyson’ Franco was put in charge of logistics, and Pedro ‘El Peter’ Cisneros became head of narcotics sales and the disposal of bodies.

 

In addition to her cartel's upper echelons, La China had more than three hundred street-level drug dealers and soldiers who rode red motorbikes to identify themselves.

 

La China was arrested without a shot being fired late on Saturday as she attempted to flee the state from Cabo San Lucas airport.

She was taken to jail in La Paz, a city she had controlled just three months before. She is currently undergoing questioning in Mexico City and will face trial for more than 150 murders next year. 

 

Credits: Mailonline