Marcos Arturo Beltrán Leyva (June 21, 1961 – December 16, 2009) was an organized crime figure and the leader of the Mexican drug trafficking organization known as the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel, which he and his brothers Carlos, Alfredo and Héctor founded. His cartel was responsible for cocaine, marijuana, heroin and methamphetamine production, transportation and wholesaling. It controlled numerous drug trafficking corridors into the United States and was responsible for human smuggling, money laundering, extortion, kidnapping, murder, contract killing, torture, gun-running and other acts of violence against men, women, and children in Mexico. The organization was connected with the assassinations of numerous Mexican law enforcement officials.