José Antonio Yépez Ortiz, known as El Marro, The Sledgehammer [2] and The Brown,[3] is a Mexican suspected drug trafficker and huachicolero (fuel thief).

[6] By June 2020, El Marro's cartel had lost all "soldiers" and was not active in organized crime,[4] due to heavy losses received in the war against CJNG.

[8] In July 2019, authorities froze more than $35 million dollars from different accounts belonging to El Marro and the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel.

[9][10] On June 11, 2020, Óscar Balderas, a Mexican journalist and expert in organized crime, revealed to Insight Crime journalist Victoria Dittmar that government and a turf war with the rival Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) resulted in the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel losing a significant amount of land in Querétaro, Hidalgo and even their native state of Guanajuato.

[4] According to Balderas, “The most recent outbreaks of violence have been the execution of the last soldiers [of the CSRL].”[4] However, some Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel members still remain in certain municipalities of Guanajuato, such as Villagrán.