How A Song Brought ‘El Piyi’ Down

Mario Alexander was arrested around noon on Thursday, September 19, in Culiacán, Sinaloa.

Peso Pluma unknowingly contributed to the capture of Mario Alexander “N”, known as El Piyi, a chief hitman for Iván Archivaldo Guzmán, leader of the Los Chapitos faction of the Sinaloa Cartel.

Mario Alexander was arrested around noon on Thursday, September 19, in Culiacán, Sinaloa, following an operation by the Mexican Army and the National Guard, involving over 25 armored vehicles, around fifty agents, and a Black Hawk helicopter.

According to federal sources, El Piyi had maintained a low profile, complicating his full identification. What is the corrido (ballad) about El Piyi? "However, the 'corridos tumbados' composed by several famous artists such as Peso Pluma, Larry Hernández, Tito Doble P, Grupo Arriesgado, and the controversial Piyuyis gradually revealed the identity and personality of this figure, boasting of his various exploits and confrontations with the government and rival groups," federal sources indicated. His face had rarely been seen, as he always wore a ski mask to avoid being located.

Peso Pluma references El Piyi in the song La People II, in whose official video several men appear, all wearing black ski masks.

“With the people, I’m no longer seen,” the lyrics begin. “We come out to defend the boss’s son. We must proceed in the Defender. There were several Thursdays when I faced them (…) They know those steel bars can be opened. 27 and Piyi, watch over the territory, the family, and the elders.”

According to sources consulted, after the arrest of Néstor Isidro Pérez Salas, El Nini, another hitman for Los Chapitos, El Piyi was no longer allowed to appear in public, much less on social media, where El Nini used to flaunt his lifestyle.

Who is El Piyi? Mario Alexander gained notoriety after it became known that he was present during the two "Culiacanazos" when Ovidio Guzmán López, El Ratón, was arrested.

El Piyi is said to have joined the ranks of the Sinaloa Cartel under the guidance of El Nini, and after his arrest, he came under the command of La Perris or El 27, Jorge Humberto Figueroa, head of hitmen for Los Chapitos.

Currently, El Piyi's role was to protect an entry zone to the Sinaloa state capital from attacks by the faction of El Mayito Flaco, the only son of the legendary drug trafficker Ismael El Mayo Zambada.

Standing 1.75 meters tall, according to official data, El Piyi had another corrido written by the popular singer Luis R. Conríquez alongside Tito Doble P.

“From Thursday to Thursday we provide support, they don’t faze us. I’m El Piyi, always ready and alert,” says the corrido, which seemed like a prediction, as he was arrested on a Thursday. “We sail under the Guzmán line, we’re working here, we don’t know how to back down. You’ll see me next to El Nini, I never leave his side, he’s like a brother to me,” the song adds.

On September 19, he was located in a residence in the Santa Fe neighborhood of Culiacán, Sinaloa, by members of the Mexican Army and the National Guard.