Sandra Avila Beltran

Drug cartel leader Sandra Avila Beltran became known as La Reina del Pacífico (the Queen of the Pacific) to mark her status as one of the only women on the inside of Mexico's lucrative and violent narcotics trade. The niece of Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo, known as El Padrino (The Godfather), she is a third generation drug trafficker; a glamorous and colourful figure who has enjoyed folk hero status in some parts of Mexico, with a famous drugs ballad describing her as "a top lady who is a key part of the business." She is also believed to have inspired Mexican TV soap opera, La Reina del Sur, based on a beautiful young woman caught up in the dangerous world of drugs cartels.

She rose up the ranks of Sinaloa cartel by developing a knack for money laundering and later began an affair with Colombian drug trafficker Juan Diego Espinos, a relationship which meant she gained control of narcotics flowing from Colombia to Mexico's Pacific coast ports (hence her nickname). Beltran developed a taste for luxury cars, fine dining and plastic surgery but her lifestyle was not without its risks - two of the men she married were later assassinated.