Eddie Escobedo aka El Mago, reputed Sinaloa cartel member and childhood friend of current leader El Chapito, gunned down in Thanksgiving shooting in Los Angeles
- Escobedo, 39, littered his Instagram page with photos demonstrating his luxury lifestyle and showing him with A-list celebrities
One of the two men killed in a Thanksgiving morning shooting in LA was a high-profile member of the Sinaloa drug cartel who littered his Instagram page with pictures of him alongside celebrities, including Al Pacino and Floyd Mayweather.
Among Thursday's victims was Eddie Escobedo aka El Mago or The Magician, according to Borderland Beat, a website that covers Mexican drug cartels extensively.
The Sinaloa Cartel is largely responsible for the huge influx of fentanyl into the U.S. in recent years, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration alleges.
Police were called to the scene in the Willowbrook section of Los Angeles around 8:30am on Thursday morning. Officers found two men dead in a parking lot surrounded by warehouses and shipping containers.
'We have no motive at this time. It appears that there was some type of gathering or party at the location from last night to early this morning,' Lt. Omar Camacho of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department said.
A local business owner told ABC Los Angeles that one of the warehouses in the area is rented out for parties on a regular basis.
![Eddie Escobedo, 39, littered his Instagram page with photos demonstrating his luxury lifestyle and showing him with A-list celebrities](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/24/14/78200513-12787489-image-a-4_1700836805047.jpg)
Eddie Escobedo, 39, littered his Instagram page with photos demonstrating his luxury lifestyle and showing him with A-list celebrities
![In February, Escobedo posted an image showing him with screen legend Al Pacino](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/24/14/78200505-12787489-image-a-5_1700836809786.jpg)
In February, Escobedo posted an image showing him with screen legend Al Pacino
![A local business owner said that the shooting occurred outside of a building that is regularly used for parties in an industrial street in Willowbrook](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/24/14/78200539-12787489-image-a-6_1700836819676.jpg)
A local business owner said that the shooting occurred outside of a building that is regularly used for parties in an industrial street in Willowbrook
![Police are thought to be eying a person of interest in the murder](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/24/14/78200541-12787489-image-a-8_1700836828828.jpg)
Police are thought to be eying a person of interest in the murder
The other victim has not been identified. Online records show that Escobedo was 36 years old.
'It's too early in the investigation to figure out if we have a possible suspect detained or witnesses that we still need to contact,' Camacho said. KTLA reported that investigators have identified as person of interest.
According to Borderland Beat's report, Escobedo was a childhood friend of Ivan Archivaldo Guzman aka El Chapito, son of El Chapo.
Just days earlier, one of Guzman's closest allies was arrested Nestor Isidro Perez Salas, or 'El Nini,' was arrested in Mexico.
The article goes on to day that he was a native of Durango in Mexico but had been living in California for some time.
In 2008, he was suspected of a role in the gunning down of 25-year-old Jose Luis Macias in Los Angeles.
A Los Angeles Times report from 2009, citing police documents, said that Escobedo wanted to be the 'shot caller' for the local faction and was facing opposition from Macias, his former friend.
The shooting was referred to a 'brazen' taking place on a busy freeway with over 100 bullets fired into Macias' car.
!['Champs hanging out with champs,' Escobido wrote in the caption of this photo showing him with Floyd Mayweather](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/24/14/78200553-12787489-image-m-12_1700836998034.jpg)
'Champs hanging out with champs,' Escobido wrote in the caption of this photo showing him with Floyd Mayweather
![TV pictures showed a small crowd that had gathered at the scene of the shooting early on Thanksgiving](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/24/14/78200545-12787489-image-a-11_1700836845615.jpg)
TV pictures showed a small crowd that had gathered at the scene of the shooting early on Thanksgiving
Three years later, Escobedo was arrested in relation to the discovery of over 2,500 pounds of marijuana at a home in the LA neighborhood, Torrance.
In the legitimate world, Escobedo was the operator of a food truck business in southern California. One of which, Besthibachi, was forced to change its name for Besthibachi due after an infringement lawsuit that was brought by Benihana.
Escobedo regularly posted about his food brand on his Instagram page. In one clip, he's shown driving a Rolls Royce.
In various photos, the reputed cartel member is pictured with boxing legend Floyd Mayweather, Oscar-winner Al Pacino and music star Luis Coronel.
Escobed wrote in the caption of his picture with Pacino, 'Say hello to my littler friend,' a reference to the screen legend's role as drug kingpin Tony Montana in Scarface.
At the movie's conclusion, a rival drug gang guns Montana down in a hail of bullets.
Among those mourning Escobedo on social media is Latin Music star Roberto Tapia. In one post, Tapia wrote that he 'couldn't believe' his 'friend' was gone and said that he will be 'missed.'
Tapia then posted a video of the pair laughing together alongside another friend. 'I'm going to miss you a lot, my old man, what a great friend you were,' he wrote in the caption of another video showing the pair surrounded by luxury cars.
'Wherever my friend is, I will always remember him, my great friend,' he wrote in another caption while also posting a video showing them in Las Vegas together recently.
Earlier this week, the Mexican National Guard captured El Nini, who is accused of heading security for the Sinaloa Cartel.
Seen by U.S. anti-narcotics agents as one of the most ruthless Mexican drug figures, Perez Salas was detained in Culiacan, the Sinaloa Cartel's heartlands, and was taken to Mexico City, according to government detention records.
He is accused by the U.S. State Department of working under Ivan Archivaldo Guzman to lead the 'Ninis,' a violent group of security personnel for the Guzman brothers, also known as 'Los Chapitos.'
U.S. courts have indicted Perez Salas on a slew of charges in relation to his alleged role at the helm of the Chapitos' security apparatus, including cocaine and methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy, possession of machine guns and witness retaliation.
The State Department had offered up to $3 million for information leading to his arrest.
Nini's capture comes less than a week after U.S. President Joe Biden met with his Mexican counterpart Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
'We're working side-by-side to combat arms trafficking, to tackle organized crime and to address the opioid epidemic, including fentanyl,' Biden said.
The U.S. and Mexico also agreed with China last week to stem the flow of fentanyl precursor chemicals from the Asian country.
In January, Mexican authorities captured Ovidio Guzman in Sinaloa and extradited him to the United States in September. The three other Guzman brothers who suspected of being leaders of Los Chapitos - including the figurehead, Ivan - remain free.