Zeferino Peña Cuéllar

Zeferino Peña Cuéllar (died 23 December 2025), also known as Don Zefe, was a Mexican suspected drug lord and high-ranking member of the Gulf Cartel, a criminal group based in the state of Tamaulipas. He was part of the cartel during the 1990s and was a trusted enforcer of former kingpins Gilberto García Mena and Osiel Cárdenas Guillén. From 1999 to 2001, he served as the municipal police chief of Miguel Alemán. Peña Cuéllar reportedly relied on corrupt Mexican military officials to run drug trafficking activities in Tamaulipas. This group of military officers would later become the foundation for the creation of Los Zetas, the Gulf Cartel's former paramilitary group originally made up of ex-soldiers. In the cartel, he headed organized crime operations in the municipalities of Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, Camargo, Miguel Alemán, Mier, and Guerrero.

After García Mena was arrested in April 2001, several within the cartel blamed Peña Cuéllar for informing Mexican authorities of his whereabouts. This triggered an attempt on his life in October 2001 at one of his estates in Nuevo León. Though Peña Cuéllar was not there when the attack occurred, the incident raised his profile in law enforcement circles. Authorities effectively moved against many of his assets in subsequent investigations. Few details of his criminal activities are known; Peña Cuéllar remained active for a few years after the attack, but when several of his accomplices were arrested and/or killed, he disappeared from public view. Peña Cuéllar withdrew from organized crime for an extended period, fleeing Mexico and living in Canada and the United States with the fortune he accumulated during his criminal career. He later re-emerged from retirement and was located and killed by authorities during a shootout in Santiago, Nuevo León, in 2025.

Early life Peña Cuéllar was born in Tamaulipas, Mexico. Both Luna Estrada and Montiel Muñiz were also granted a motion that prevented them from being incommunicado or removed from the hospital.

Death Peña Cuéllar was killed during a shootout with officers from the State Investigation Agency in Santiago, Nuevo León, in the early afternoon of 23 December 2025. At approximately 1:30 pm. CST, authorities were alerted to Peña Cuéllar's whereabouts at a suburban estate in the Los Rodríguez neighborhood, near the intersection of Las Torres and Benito Juárez streets, following reports of armed individuals at the location. Security forces moved to the site, where they encountered heavy gunfire from inside the residence. During the ensuing shootout, two people were killed, including Peña Cuéllar and his companion, David Calderón, a former military officer. One Nuevo León State investigation agent was wounded and later reported to be in stable condition at a nearby hospital. A man and a woman were also arrested, and several weapons and narcotics were seized.