Believed to be a former operative for the Gulf Cartel, Jose Jesus Mendez Vargas, alias 'El Chango,' was considered the right hand man of Nazario Moreno, alias 'El Mas Loco,' and coordinated the group’s methamphetamine and cocaine trafficking. His security detail was known as the “Twelve Apostles,” another nod to the Familia Michoana's twisted religious ideology. Recruits to the Familia reportedly had to study Mendez's teachings, which include interpretations of Biblical stories, as an initiation ritual. Mendez was arrested June 21, 2011.