The Last Night of El Pirate of Culiacán: When a Murder Changed the Crime Narrative on Networks

The death of Juan Luis Lagunas Rosales, known as El Pirata de Culiacán, occurred in December 2017 and resurfaced in trends months later when the capture of cartel boss Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes was confirmed. The case of the influencer murdered in a bar in Jalisco represents one of the most iconic turning points in the history of Mexican drug trafficking and viral figures.

The event gained renewed prominence on February 22, 2026, when authorities confirmed the death of the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), triggering a wave of violence that reconnected the narrative with previous cases, such as that of the young content creator who eight years earlier publicly challenged the country’s most wanted cartel boss.

From aspiring internet star: Lagunas Rosales’s path to virality

Juan Luis Lagunas Rosales was born in April 2000 in Villa Juárez, Sinaloa, under difficult circumstances. His father abandoned him before he was born, and his mother left him in the care of his grandmother. Before becoming a social media phenomenon, he did humble jobs like washing vehicles and household chores.

At 15, he made a decision that would change his life: he left home and moved to Culiacán. From there, he began posting videos that caught the attention of thousands of users. His content showed parties, regional Mexican music, alcohol consumption, and a reckless lifestyle that resonated with young audiences on digital platforms.

El Pirata de Culiacán amassed around 790,000 followers on Facebook and 323,000 on Instagram. His popularity was such that artists like Noel Aragon, Último Escuadrón, Ángel De Imperio, and El Ninii dedicated corridos to him. The young man had become a social media icon, a character who seemed untouchable behind a screen.

The video that marked him: challenging the most dangerous cartel boss

On November 9, 2017, the content creator posted a recording that would become the turning point of his story. In it, directly addressing El Mencho, leader of CJNG, he issued a provocation that would resonate nationwide: “Here, it’s whatever, whatever they put in front of me, El Mencho doesn’t scare me.”

The video spread quickly on social media. Someone filming added a foreboding phrase: “It’s over.” Despite the viral nature of the content and the implicit warnings from his close circle, Lagunas Rosales continued with his usual activity. He did not change his behavior, did not tone it down. He kept posting as if nothing had happened, as if challenging one of the most violent drug traffickers in the country was just part of his personal brand.

December 18: the night everything ended at Menta2 Cantaros bar

Nine days after the provocative video, El Pirata de Culiacán’s life came to an end. On December 18, 2017, around nighttime, the young influencer was at Menta2 Cantaros bar, located in Zapopan, Jalisco, at the intersection of Eje Las Torres and Prolongación Colón.

Hours earlier, from an apartment in Guadalajara, Lagunas Rosales had gone live, inviting his followers to attend the place where he would perform that night. The content creator arrived accompanied by others, including Roberto González (Hotspanish) and Benjamín López Ferrigno, known as Ben El Gringo.

What happened next was brutal and swift. About four armed individuals entered the bar and headed straight for the table where El Pirata de Culiacán was sitting. The influencer was hit with at least 15 gunshot wounds to different parts of his body: head, arms, chest. He was holding his phone in his hands.

Ben El Gringo described the moments afterward: “As soon as we got there, we all sat down except El Pirata de Culiacán, the two girls went to the bathroom, and a guy was with him. Someone pulls the table, we don’t know who, and everyone drops to the floor because they heard gunshots. We all threw ourselves down, we didn’t see the faces of anyone, of the suspects, nothing.” Ben El Gringo himself was grazed by a bullet during the attack.

Hotspanish, who had only met El Pirata twice, recalled: “We were just arriving, I settle in, suddenly I turn around and I hear ‘pop, pop, pop, pop!’ My instinct was: I get up, jump over here, hide behind something.”

During the attack, Lagunas Rosales tried to take cover. He positioned himself behind the bar owner, who involuntarily served as a human shield. However, the attackers cornered him in a corner of the bar. The owner was also hit by gunfire and later died from his injuries.

Hotspanish made an observation that investigators would consider: “Analyzing the situation, seeing that only El Pirata died among us, it’s clearer that they didn’t want to hurt us, neither my friend Ben nor any of the girls, because if they had, they would have done it.”

Revenge by CJNG or coincidence?: what the official investigation revealed

After the influencer’s death, one of the most circulated hypotheses was that the crime was a direct revenge for the video in which El Pirata de Culiacán insulted El Mencho. However, the Jalisco Prosecutor’s Office never confirmed this theory as the official cause of the homicide.

Raúl Sánchez Jiménez, then Attorney General, stated at a press conference: “There is a video where he makes statements. It’s unknown if it’s related to the same incident. What is known is that two people arrived, victimized the person, and another was injured, who died moments later.”

Authorities indicated they were analyzing multiple lines of investigation, including the content posted by the young man on social media, his social circle, and the specific circumstances of the attack. There was never an official confirmation that CJNG was involved.

However, later reports published by Milenio suggested that Ricardo Ruiz Velasco, alias El Tripas or El Doble R, a lieutenant of CJNG, might have ordered the retaliation for the insult to his boss. The same capo has been linked to other crimes against internet personalities, such as the murder of influencer Valeria Márquez.

The case of El Pirata de Culiacán remains officially unresolved, becoming a symbol of the violence Mexico faced in 2017 and the real dangers viral figures encountered during that era, when the worlds of drug trafficking and digital entertainment began to intersect in increasingly deadly ways.