In a chilling act of cartel retribution, Venezuelan drug trafficker Reinaldo Fuentes, known as “Taliban,” was thrown alive into the ocean with an anchor tied around his waist after stealing a 450-pound cocaine shipment worth $10 million from his bosses.
Fuentes, 68, a middleman for the Venezuelan Clan del Cartel—also linked to Mexico’s Gulf Cartel—was captured on video bound, gagged, and bloodied on the back of his head. The footage shows two unidentified men struggling to heave him and the heavy anchor over the side of a boat into the Caribbean Sea near Martinique. One voice in the background warns, “Make sure none of our faces can be seen,” while another later remarks, “He has no way to save himself.” The video ends with a distant shot of Fuentes floating helplessly in the water.
The execution stemmed from an elaborate scheme gone wrong. Fuentes had dumped the narcotics at sea and fabricated a story about a coast guard pursuit to avoid delivering them to the cartel, pocketing the cash instead. He later retrieved the cocaine, repackaged it, and transported it to another Caribbean island. However, his henchmen betrayed him, leading to his kidnapping during what he believed was a routine cartel meeting on July 17.
Veteran journalist Rafael Tolentino revealed details of Fuentes’ double life on the Dominican Republic morning show Esto No Es Radio this Monday. Fuentes had been living under the alias Miguel Fulcar in the Dominican city of Bonao, using a fake national identification document to evade detection. He was reportedly dating a prominent lawyer and caring for her daughter there.
A native of Sucre, Venezuela, with three children from a prior relationship, Fuentes earned his “Taliban” nickname through illicit dealings with Middle Eastern drug traffickers. He allegedly controlled drug operations in Bonao’s Buenos Aires neighborhood. Two members of his organization were killed in a police shootout, and an subsequent investigation uncovered a cache of weapons in a local home believed to belong to him.
Sources informed Tolentino that Fuentes entered the Dominican Republic on July 14, staying just two days before departing. He was lured to the fatal meeting three days later, where he was abducted and dumped at sea. The motive was tied to the theft of the multi-million-dollar cocaine shipment destined for Tortola in the British Virgin Islands.
Authorities have not confirmed any arrests in the case. The Dominican Republic military stated the incident did not occur in its waters. It remains unclear how long Fuentes had been associated with the Clan del Cartel, an offshoot of the Gulf Cartel, which is Mexico’s oldest active criminal syndicate. Founded during the U.S. Prohibition Era for alcohol smuggling, the group later expanded into gambling, prostitution, and, by the 1980s, the marijuana and heroin trade.
This brutal killing underscores the ruthless enforcement within drug cartels, where betrayal often leads to swift and fatal consequences. Investigations are ongoing, but details on the perpetrators remain scarce.