Rolando López Salinas

Rolando López Salinas (1948/1953 – September 2018), also known as El Rolis, was a Mexican suspected drug lord and former high-ranking member of the Gulf Cartel, a criminal group based in Tamaulipas, Mexico. López Salinas started his criminal career as the right-hand man of his cousin Edelio López Falcón and was in charge of his security services, and later became involved in drug trafficking operations. During his criminal career, López Salinas survived two assassination attempts—one in 1999 and another in 2000—which were reportedly triggered by his differences with Gilberto García Mena, a former cartel boss. After López Falcón came into conflict with the cartel's leadership, both he and López Salinas broke ties with the cartel and forged alliances with rival criminal groups.

López Salinas eventually joined the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel, a criminal group that arose from the remnants of the Sinaloa Cartel, and became one of its senior members. In 2015, law enforcement agencies identified him as the head of the cartel in Monterrey and San Pedro Garza García. On 4 September 2018, gunmen kidnapped López Salinas in San Pedro Garza García; his corpse was found a few days later, bearing visible signs of torture. His assassins left a sign at the crime scene warning other cartel members that they would be killed if they did not surrender. Investigators suspect he was murdered by members of his own cartel.

Career Rolando López Salinas, also known by his nickname "El Rolis", was born in Tamaulipas, Mexico between 1948 and 1953. (His date of birth was calculated based on his estimated age (65 to 70 years old) when he was found dead in 2018.)