Juan Luis Lagunas Rosales lived life in the fast lane.

The brash 17-year-old flashed his cash, snorted drugs and put away bottles of whiskey in a single sitting. His antics garnered millions of views on YouTube and the Sinaloa, Mexico-based teen earned the nickname of “El Pirata de Culiacán,” or “The Pirate of Culiacán”.

But with lawless behaviour brought an array of enemies, including one of the most feared men on Earth: the leader of the Jalisco Cartel, ‘El Mencho’. And a single foul-mouthed sentence ended in disaster for loose-lipped Rosales. Six years ago on the evening of December 18, 2017, he was shot at least 15 times at point-blank while sipping on spirits with his pals at a bar.

Rewind to the early 2000s and Rosales was growing up in the heart of gangland without a mother or father. His grandmother took him in and was his saving grace. By 15-years-old he became a high school dropout and began washing cars and stacking supermarket shelves for a living.

After fostering a number of “bad friendships” in his workplaces, Rosales set his sights on the underground criminal world of drug dealing. He wanted to make enough money for his gran to be comfortable, he said.

But Rosales failed miserably at slinging narcotics for a living, but quickly became an expert at taking them.

The baby-faced ‘Pirate’ started to descend into a life of excess. He would attend parties, earn spots in music videos, drink until he passed out, brandish weapons and show off scantily clad women on his arm.

He covered himself in tattoos and even drew a beard on his face to look like a man – despite still being a boy. All the while he recorded his flamboyant lifestyle, gaining over a million YouTube followers along the way. He became known as a “narcoyoutuber”.

Life for Rosales seemed like one big game – he could do and say whatever he wished. But amongst all the outside success, the teen had a fatal flaw: an invincibility complex.

Then, one drunken slur saw his entire world come crashing down. Rosales was recorded taking a stab at Nemesio Ocegera Cervantes, also known as El Mencho. Leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), the drug lord is currently one of the most wanted people on Earth and, subsequently, does his dodgy dealings in the shadows.

“El Mencho a mí me pela la verga” the Pirate said in a video in early December, 2017. The phrase roughly translates to, “El Mencho, suck my c**k” in Spanish.

Almost six years ago to the day, he and his friends were partying in a bar in the CJNG dominated state of Jalisco. The unassuming teens were interrupted when a group of gunmen burst through the doors, Attorney General of Jalisco, Raul Sanchez Jimenez, said in a statement.

Rosales’ body was riddled with holes after being struck with at least 15 bullets. His mangled body lay bloodied on the floor. Despite the identities of those responsible for the teen’s death not being named, El Mencho’s thugs were assumed accountable.

The JCNG has been accused of thousands of murders in Mexico, and they make a point in showing their brutal feats to the public. To top it off, 2017 was the nation’s deadliest year on record, with 31,174 murders recorded.

Rosales’ desperate pursuit for fame was ultimately the cause of his demise. His life ended in a hauntingly similar way to how his career started: intoxicated and high on drugs.

But it took being slaughtered to reach the dizzying heights of fame he craved. As a Univision reporter put it, his death “gave him the popularity he never imagined”. (DailyStar)