The Cartel’s Stew Maker Dissolved Over 1000 Bodies, Then He Claimed He Was Making Seafood Soup

The disturbing case of Santiago Meza López

Lioness Rue
4 min readJan 21, 2023
Image by stockking — from Freepik

Officers barged into Santiago’s secret place.

He was stirring up something that smelled horrible. The authorities asked him what it was. “Seafood soup.”, Santiago stated.

It was no secret that Santiago was a renowned soup master.

He even went by the name El Pozolero.

Pozole is a popular Mexican stew delicacy that can feature pork, hominy, an array of vegetables, and seasonings.

Santiago would say: “I prefer my job than for my family to die of hunger.”

Santiago Was Born and Raised In Mexico

Santiago Meza López, a.k.a. El Pozolero, was born in Guamuchil, Sinaloa, Mexico.

Santiago’s childhood was pretty rough. He had to make bricks for construction to help out his big family. Then, he decided to seek greener pastures in Tijuana.

So Santiago started working for a Tijuana Cartel known as the Arellano Félix Cartel.

He tended to their horses, and he did bricklaying.

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