10 Most Evil Mexicans in History

Top 10 Most Evil Mexicans in History

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Top 10 Most Evil Mexicans in History.

For this list, we’ll be looking at the most notorious people from Mexico whose heinous crimes against humanity have enshrined them in the hall of infamy.

Which of these individuals terrifies you the most? Let us know in the comments.

Arturo Beltrán Leyva

One of the most notorious drug dealers in Mexican history, Arturo Beltrán Leyva got his start with the Sinaloa Cartel, eventually working his way up to a high-ranking position. After the arrest of his brother Alfredo in January 2008, Beltrán Leyva and his other brothers broke off to form the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel. Now wielding a great deal of power in the terrain, Beltrán Leyva infiltrated law enforcement agencies in Mexico, which allowed him to successfully traffick drugs into the U.S. He also controlled a ruthless group of assassins, who gained infamy for their violent killings of his rivals and police officers. Beltrán Leyva met his end in December 2009, after engaging in a 90-minute shootout with Mexican military forces.

José Manuel Martínez

Known by the nickname ‘El Mano Negra’, José Manuel Martínez reportedly built a career as a hitman for multiple Mexican drug cartels. This line of work took Martínez across several states in the U.S., where he was tasked with collecting debts and killing those who defaulted. Although, according to the hitman, not all of his crimes were related to the drug business. Overall, Martínez confessed that he had claimed the lives of over 30 people, all of whom were male, with some incidents dating back to the 1980s. He was arrested in 2013 and faced trials in Alabama, California and Florida, where he was convicted of 12 counts of first-degree murder, in total. Martínez is currently serving ten consecutive life sentences.

José Luis Calva

Born in Mexico City, José Luis Calva got a pretty traumatic start in life, having lost his father and being abandoned by his mother at a young age. After his girlfriend, Alejandra Galeana, went missing in October 2007, police stormed Calva’s home, only to make a shocking discovery. They found the self-proclaimed writer consuming a meal of human flesh that he had seasoned with lemon. Upon searching his house, investigators eventually discovered Galeana’s body, alongside more human parts lying around. He was swiftly arrested and faced charges of murder and mutilation of a corpse. However, before he could stand trial for his crimes, Calva seemingly took his own life in his jail cell.

Raúl Osiel Marroquín

Between September and December of 2005, Raúl Osiel Marroquín kidnapped six men he met at a gay bar in the heart of Mexico City. The former Army sergeant lured the men to his house or a nearby hotel, where he then held them hostage and demanded a ransom from their families. Fueled by a disdain for the queer community, Marroquín ended up taking the lives of four of his victims, even though some of their families were able to pay for their release. He then got rid of the bodies by loading them in suitcases, abandoned in various parts of Mexico City. Marroquín was eventually apprehended in January of 2006 and sentenced to 300 years in prison.

Gregorio Cárdenas Hernández

The first Mexican serial killer to receive significant media attention, Gregorio Cárdenas Hernández began exhibiting signs of sociopathy as a child. Well into his adulthood, Hernández struggled with bed-wetting, which was a constant source of embarrassment for him and likely contributed to his contempt for women. Over the span of two months in 1942, Hernández claimed the lives of four women - three sex workers and one classmate of his. The widespread coverage the crimes received turned him into an unlikely celebrity in Mexico and inspired a host of copycat killings throughout the country. Hernández was eventually pardoned by Mexican president Luis Echeverría and went on to practice as a lawyer until he passed on in 1999.

Delfina & María de Jesús González

Delfina and María de Jesús González were two sisters from Guanajuato, Mexico who operated a brothel called ‘Rancho El Ángel’ in the ‘50s and ‘60s. The sisters often recruited girls from low-income areas - sometimes outright kidnapping them - to work in their bordello. These ladies lived in harsh conditions and were often killed when the sisters felt they couldn’t perform to the best of their ability. Delfina and María hardly spared anyone, sometimes even murdering their male customers if they had a lot of cash on them. In 1964, police were led to the sisters after they arrested one of their recruiters, and eventually discovered the bodies of 91 people on their property. Following a tumultuous trial, they were each sentenced to 40 years in prison.

Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano

Before he became one of the most feared cartel leaders in Mexico, Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano served in the Special Forces Corps, where he fought drug trafficking efforts. After deserting the military in 1998, Lazcano worked in the security detail of the Gulf Cartel, known as Los Zetas. The group eventually broke off to form their own syndicate, with Lazcano ascending to the top position in 2004. Referred to as ‘El Verdugo’ or ‘The Executioner’, Lazcano was infamous for his brutal torture methods. These sometimes included acid baths, throwing his victims in boiling oil, and feeding them to his lions and tigers. His reign of terror came to an end in 2012, when he was killed in a shootout with the Mexican Navy.

Fernando Hernández Leyva

The crimes of Fernando Hernández Leyva left many in utter disbelief when they eventually came to light. Leyva, who mostly lived as a nomad, was first arrested in 1982, the same year his horrific killing spree began. After escaping from prison, Leyva spent 17 years on the run, during which he was confirmed to have claimed at least 33 lives. While this is an alarming number in itself, the Morelos native is actually believed to have been responsible for 137 murders. This would cement him as one of the most prolific Mexican serial killers of all time. Leyva was apprehended again in 1999 and unsuccessfully attempted to take his life while in custody. He is scheduled for release in 2049.

Juana Barraza

In the late ‘90s and early 2000s, Juana Barraza worked as a professional wrestler in Mexico City. But what many did not know was that she also doubled as a serial killer who would invade the homes of elderly women, murder them and then steal their belongings. Many eyewitnesses described the culprit as a masculine-looking woman, leading the police to assume that it must have been a man dressed in female clothes. It wasn’t until January 2006, when Barraza was arrested while scurrying away from the house of her last victim, that their confusion was cleared. Referred to as ‘La Mataviejitas’ or ‘The Little Old Lady Killer’, Barraza was convicted of 16 murders and handed a 759-year prison sentence.

Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán

Widely known as ‘El Chapo’ or ‘Shorty’ due to his small stature, Joaquín Guzmán was once the head of the Sinaloa Cartel, one of the most powerful drug syndicates in the world. Guzmán got his major start in crime working directly for Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, who co-founded the Guadalajara Cartel. After Gallardo was arrested in 1989, Guzmán became one of the leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel, a position he held for decades. Guzmán led his syndicate to become arguably the most powerful in the world, at one time, destroying millions of lives in the process. After escaping from prison twice, El Chapo was arrested for a third time in 2016 and is currently serving a life sentence.