MATAMOROS, Tamaulipas — Mexican authorities caught a regional commander of the Gulf Cartel near the Texas border. Despite his ridiculous nickname, he had made a name for himself as one of the fiercest and most cruel enforcers for the criminal organization.
While the arrest took place earlier this week in this border city, Mexican authorities waited until the weekend to announce the arrest of Jose “El Gordo Cachetes (Chubby Cheeks)” Sanchez Garcia.
The Mexican federal government described Sanchez Garcia as one of the fiercest enforcers for the Gulf Cartel. He had at his command at least seven squads of hitmen and had been behind most of the extortions and kidnappings in the rural central parts of Tamaulipas, information released to Breitbart Texas from the Mexican government revealed.
In addition to several crimes and kidnappings, Sanchez Garcia is the prime suspect in the murder of the local police chief in the rural town of Aldama. He is also wanted for the kidnapping of two Mexican federal investigators.
Sanchez Garcia was a newcomer to the Gulf Cartel having been recruited in 2010 by Mario “Pelon or X-20” Ramirez Trevino one of the top commanders who ended up climbing to the top of the Gulf Cartel as the leader for some time.
According to the information provided by Mexican authorities, Sanchez Garcia quickly climbed to a command post because of his unusual cruelty. He ended up ruling the rural communities of Soto La Marina, Aldama and Abasolo his hometown. Through a vast network of lookouts and informants, Sanchez managed to stay one step ahead of authorities.
In the region under his command, Sanchez Garcia terrified local businessmen and ranchers after he took several properties by force.
The cartel boss would collect a tax on farm product and cattle sold in his region which varied from $4,000 to $50,000. He would also kidnap ranchers and farmhands in order to extort a ransom, the information provided by Mexican authorities revealed.
If a ransom was not paid by the ranchers or the relatives of the victims, Sanchez Garcia had his victims killed. In addition to kidnapping and extorting ranchers, Sanchez Garcia also charged fees from people importing goods from the U.S. regardless of them being legally or illegally imported. This practice is called “Piso” or ground where anyone using his turf for business had to pay a fee. The fees collected were either $500 or 15 percent of the product’s value.
Mexican authorities had begun looking for Sanchez Garcia in July 2014. In recent weeks, he had moved to Matamoros to hide out. It is in this Mexican border city where a squad of Mexican Federal Police Officers found in an SUV driving around the Bugambilias neighborhood and tried to arrest him. Sanchez Garcia and his henchmen fought off the police officers apparently using a Barrett .50 caliber rifle. They then managed to flee for a short while; however, Mexican authorities set off a large manhunt and eventually captured the wanted cartel boss.
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