Home / Crime and Justice / La Línea Boss Detained: Ordered 2019 LeBarón Family Ambush
La Línea Boss Detained: Ordered 2019 LeBarón Family Ambush
1 Jul
Summary
- Suspected cartel leader "El 32" arrested November 2020 for ordering LeBarón massacre.
- La Línea, a Juárez cartel wing, fights for territory in Chihuahua.
- Survivors of the 2019 LeBarón attack are victims of organized crime.
Roberto González Montes, known as "El 32" or "El Mudo," was arrested on November 23, 2020, in Nuevo Casas Grandes, Mexico. Authorities identified him as the state leader of La Línea, a criminal group linked to the Juárez cartel, and charged him with ordering the 2019 massacre of the LeBarón family. The operation followed months of investigation and involved army and National Guard units. Two bodyguards and two other suspected members of the group were detained simultaneously.
La Línea has been a significant player in the northeastern Chihuahua drug corridor, engaging in territorial disputes with factions aligned with the Sinaloa cartel and recently forming alliances with the CJNG for synthetic drug trafficking. The group gained notoriety after 2017 for public displays of force. The investigation into "El 32" began the previous year, stemming from the November 4, 2019, ambush where nine members of the LeBarón family, including six children, were killed in a convoy attack.
Federal courts formally recognized the surviving LeBarón family members as victims of organized crime, enabling potential compensation claims. Despite subsequent arrests and indictments, including "El Monster" in 2025, the family asserts that key planners remain at large and seeks higher-ranking accountability. The LeBarón family has a history of activism against cartel violence, facing intimidation and threats tied to their advocacy.
