Abril Félix Murillo: The Private Life of El Padrino’s Daughter and How She Built Her Own Identity
Who Is Abril Félix Murillo?
Abril Félix Murillo is the daughter of Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, the infamous Mexican drug lord known as El Padrino (The Godfather) and El Jefe de Jefes (The Boss of Bosses). She was born in Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico, sometime in the late 1970s to early 1980s. Her mother is María Elvira Murillo, Félix Gallardo’s second wife.
Despite growing up in one of the most notorious families in Mexican history, Abril has spent her entire life quietly away from the public eye. She has no verified social media presence, gives no interviews, and keeps her personal details private. Her name draws curiosity online not because she sought fame, but because she chose the exact opposite.
Quick Facts About Abril Félix Murillo
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Abril Félix Murillo |
| Birth Place | Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico |
| Birth Period | Late 1970s to early 1980s |
| Father | Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo |
| Mother | María Elvira Murillo |
| Sibling | Miguel Félix Murillo (Miguel Jr.) |
| Nationality | Mexican |
| Interests | Painting, Music |
| Public Profile | Extremely private, no social media |
Early Life and Background
Growing Up in the Shadow of a Cartel
Abril grew up during the height of her father’s power. In the 1970s and 1980s, Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo co-founded the Guadalajara Cartel and became one of the most powerful drug traffickers in Mexico. He controlled key smuggling routes between Mexico and the United States, building an empire that reached every corner of the criminal underworld.
Life in the Félix Gallardo household was one of comfort, but also constant risk. The family eventually relocated to Guadalajara around 1987, as Félix Gallardo tried to keep a lower profile while still running his criminal empire. Abril and her brother Miguel Félix Murillo (often called Miguel Jr.) grew up with both privilege and an enormous amount of pressure tied to their family name.
The Day Everything Changed: April 8, 1989
On April 8, 1989, Mexican federal authorities arrested Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo at the family’s home in Guadalajara. In a 2021 interview with Noticias Telemundo, Miguel Jr. recalled that both he and Abril were present when police broke down the door without a search warrant and took their father away.
That single moment changed everything. Abril was still a child when her father’s world collapsed around her. His arrest came after he was linked to the kidnapping and murder of DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena, a case that triggered massive U.S. pressure on the Mexican government.
Félix Gallardo received a 40-year prison sentence and was sent to the Altiplano maximum-security prison. The family was left to rebuild on their own.
Her Mother: María Elvira Murillo
María Elvira Murillo played the most important role in shaping who Abril became. She was Félix Gallardo’s second wife. His first wife reportedly passed away from leukemia in 1968, and he married María Elvira in the early 1970s.
After the arrest, María Elvira stepped back from everything connected to the cartel world. She raised Abril and Miguel Jr. on her own, keeping them far from media attention and criminal connections. She focused entirely on giving her children a stable, quiet life far from the chaos of their father’s past.
Her influence on Abril is widely believed to be the reason Abril has managed to maintain her privacy for decades. María Elvira modeled what it looks like to step away from controversy and protect your family above everything else.
Brother Miguel Félix Murillo (Miguel Jr.)
Miguel Félix Murillo, known as Miguel Jr., is Abril’s brother and the other confirmed child of Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo and María Elvira Murillo. Like Abril, he has stayed largely out of public view.
He was also present at their father’s arrest in 1989, an experience that clearly shaped both siblings. There is no credible evidence linking him to criminal activity. After their parents separated, their mother took custody of both children and raised them away from the violent world that defined their father’s story.
Some sources, including drug historian David F. Marley, have suggested that Félix Gallardo may have fathered as many as 17 children with María Elvira. However, only Abril and Miguel Jr. are publicly confirmed and named.
The 2011 Open Letter: A Rare Public Moment
The clearest sign of Abril’s connection to her father came in 2011. That year, Abril, her brother Miguel Jr., and their mother María Elvira Murillo co-authored an open letter addressed to Mexico’s Public Safety Secretary Genaro García Luna.
The letter condemned the conditions their father faced inside prison. The family stated he was being held in isolation, receiving inadequate medical care, and living in unhealthy, confined conditions. They called it inhumane treatment and asked for a formal meeting to discuss his situation.
The letter did not defend his crimes. It simply asked that his basic rights as a prisoner be respected. This rare public act humanized the family and showed that Abril maintained a connection to her father despite everything. Following public pressure, Félix Gallardo was transferred to a medium-security prison in Guadalajara in December 2014 due to his declining health, which included vertigo, deafness, and loss of vision in one eye.
Abril Félix Murillo’s Personal Interests and Identity
Despite the limited information available about her personal life, several sources confirm that Abril Félix Murillo has expressed a deep interest in the arts, particularly painting and music. She appears to have used creative expression as a way to build her own identity, separate from her father’s legacy.
Details about her education remain undisclosed. No verified career information is available. She has never given a public interview and does not maintain any known social media presence. She is of Mexican descent and is reported to follow the Christian faith, consistent with the cultural background of her family from Sinaloa.
As of 2026, Abril is believed to be in her mid-40s, though her exact birthdate has never been confirmed.
Her Father: Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo
To truly understand Abril’s story, you have to understand who her father was.
Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo was born on January 8, 1946, in Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico. He grew up in poverty and later worked as a federal judicial police agent and bodyguard to Sinaloa Governor Leopoldo Sánchez Celis. These political connections helped him enter the criminal world.
In the 1970s and 1980s, he co-founded the Guadalajara Cartel alongside Rafael Caro Quintero and Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo (known as Don Neto). The cartel became the most powerful drug trafficking organization in Mexico, controlling routes along the entire Mexico-United States border.
At the height of his power, Félix Gallardo was estimated to be worth over $500 million. He was often called the “Bill Gates of Cocaine” for the way he modernized and organized the drug trade.
His downfall came when DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena was kidnapped and murdered in 1985 a crime tied back to the Guadalajara Cartel. After years of political protection, Félix Gallardo was finally arrested on April 8, 1989, convicted, and sentenced to 40 years in prison.
After his arrest, the Guadalajara Cartel fractured. His nephews, the Arellano Félix brothers, formed the Tijuana Cartel, while former lieutenants like Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán and Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada went on to build the Sinaloa Cartel.
Félix Gallardo’s niece, Sandra Ávila Beltrán, later became a prominent figure in the Sinaloa Cartel. But Abril and Miguel Jr. took a completely different path.
Narcos: Mexico and Public Curiosity
Interest in Abril Félix Murillo grew significantly after the release of Netflix’s Narcos: Mexico, which dramatized the rise and fall of the Guadalajara Cartel. In the show, Mexican actor Diego Luna portrayed Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, bringing global attention to the family’s story.
The series showed Félix Gallardo’s family life alongside his criminal empire, sparking public curiosity about what happened to his real children. Many viewers searched online for Abril and her brother, hoping to understand who they became. Yet the series, despite its dramatic detail, could not answer that question. Abril remains private and unspoken.
Why Abril’s Story Matters
Abril Félix Murillo’s story is not about crime. It is about the children left behind when a powerful family falls.
She was born into a world she did not choose. Her father ran one of the most powerful criminal organizations in history. Her early years were marked by privilege, danger, and eventually, the trauma of watching her father be taken away by force. Yet she chose silence over sensationalism, privacy over attention, and art over crime.
That choice says a lot about who she is. It also reflects the strength of her mother, María Elvira Murillo, who shielded her children from a world that could have pulled them in very different directions.
Most children connected to famous criminals struggle publicly with identity. Abril avoided that struggle by staying invisible. She built a life on her own terms, away from cameras, headlines, and the weight of her last name.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Abril Félix Murillo? She is the daughter of convicted Mexican drug lord Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo and his wife María Elvira Murillo. She grew up in Mexico and has lived a private life away from media attention.
What does Abril Félix Murillo do? Confirmed details about her career are not publicly available. Reports indicate she has shown a deep interest in painting and music as forms of personal expression.
Is Abril Félix Murillo involved in criminal activity? No. There is no credible evidence linking her to any criminal activity. She has consistently stayed away from the criminal world her father was part of.
How old is Abril Félix Murillo? She was born sometime in the late 1970s to early 1980s, which places her in her mid-40s as of 2026. Her exact birthdate has not been publicly confirmed.
What happened to Félix Gallardo’s family after his arrest? His wife María Elvira Murillo raised Abril and Miguel Jr. on her own. In 2011, the family signed an open letter calling for humane treatment of Félix Gallardo in prison. His health declined significantly, and he was moved to a medium-security prison in 2014.
