Who Was ‘El Piturris,’ the Mexican Influencer Killed in Sonora?
Authorities are investigating a possible link to drug trafficking after the 37-year-old podcast host was shot at his family restaurant.
- On Thursday morning, an armed man shot influencer Luis Esparza, known as "Piturris," at his family's taco restaurant in Ciudad Obregón, Sonora, before fleeing on a motorcycle with another person.
- The Sonora Attorney General is investigating a possible connection between Esparza's death and a Wednesday killing in a nearby town, suggesting a potential confrontation between criminal groups linked to drug trafficking.
- Known for the Guarida podcast launched one year ago, Esparza was a taco vendor whose friends remember his motto: "Keep your spirits up." His content reached 130,000 combined followers by Saturday.
- Following a memorial Mass held on Friday, podcast producer Luis Antonio Escalante and co-host Luis Alberto González, called "Huicho," announced the Guarida team will take time off to heal.
- Esparza's death is the latest case in a series of murders of Mexican influencers over the past two years, with similar incidents recorded in Sinaloa, Baja California, and Jalisco.
19 Articles
19 Articles
Mexican influencer shot dead is 20th social media star executed in 2 years
Jose Luis Esparza, an influencer who went by "El Putirrís," is the 20th content creator to be murdered in Mexico since 2024 when he was shot dead Thursday at a taco shop were he worked.
By Mauricio Torres, CNN en Español A José Luis Esparza Güicho, the influencer murdered Thursday in the state of Sonora, in northwestern Mexico, began to say “El Piturris” since he was a child. Luis Antonio Escalante, producer of the La Guarida podcast, where the content creator was a co-driver, tells that the nickname was born
José Luis Esparza was 37 years old and no known enemy. Sonora’s prosecution still doesn’t know who ordered his death.
He was shot in his taquería in Ciudad Obregón; authorities found ballistic coincidences with a crime the day before
The murder of 37-year-old Mexican influencer José Luis Esparza (“El Putirrí”) in Ciudad Obregon highlights the dangerous targeting of social media stars by drug cartels in Mexico, with at least 20 executions in the past two years. Authorities are investigating possible links between the man’s family and the cartels as a motive, while analysts say influencers are being targeted either for money laundering or as “collateral” targets for informatio…
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