He is the brother of the deceased drug lord Manuel Torres Félix and the former right-hand man of Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, a top cartel leader.

As he crossed the international border, the Mexican authorities arrested him in April 2013 for pending charges on organized crime, homicide, and illegal use of firearms.

In the District of Columbia and the Los Angeles area, several other indictments were filed against Torres Félix for his involvement in drug trafficking and money distribution on behalf of the cartel.

By then, the U.S. government had identified Torres Félix as one of the top lieutenants of "El Mayo" Zambada and as a leading distributor of multi-ton shipments of narcotics.

[9] The act prohibited U.S. citizens and companies from doing any kind of business activity with him, and virtually froze all his assets in the U.S.[10] On the morning of 27 January 2004, a commando of the Grupo Aeromóvil de Fuerzas Especiales (GAFE), the Mexican Army Special Forces, intercepted Torres Félix at a rural community known as La Tula, just outside the city of Culiacán, Sinaloa.

To avoid the capture of their boss, at least 30 of Torres Félix's gunmen confronted the GAFE soldiers as the drug lord fled to one of his many safe houses in Culiacán.

Prior to his arrest, Torres Félix was widely regarded as one of the top leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel, and the right-hand man of "El Mayo" Zambada.

[21] On 1 May 2006, a Mexican federal court approved the extradition of Torres Félix to the United States, where he faced drug trafficking charges.

According to extraofficial reports, Torres Félix collaborated with U.S. authorities by helping them identify other high-ranking lieutenants within the Sinaloa Cartel in exchange for a shorter sentence.

As he crossed the U.S.-Mexico border into Mexicali, he was arrested by the Baja California authorities for organized crime charges, homicide, and for illegal use of weaponry under Mexican law.

[28] In January 2014, a Mexican federal judge ordered the PGR to define the legal standing of Torres Félix in 60 days given that the drug lord was granted an appeal.

[36] His son Misael Torres Urrea (alias "El M2") was arrested by soldiers of the Mexican Army at his home in Culiacán, Sinaloa on 2 October 2014.

[37] His daughter, Marisol Torres Urrea, died Friday, 1 de May, 2015, the cause of death was a long fight against a deadly sickness named lupus erythematosus.