Gulf Cartel’s Attack on Mexican Federal Building near Border Was Likely Revenge

REYNOSA, Tamaulipas — An law enforcement operation into the theft of fuel by the Gulf Cartel appears to have been the cause of a brazen attack by the criminal organization where they shot the offices of Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office (PGR) in this border city.

On Monday afternoon, the PGR announced the arrest of the leader of an organized crime cell that is responsible for tapping into Mexico’s fuel lines in order to sell the product on the black market in Reynosa. Reynosa is immediately south of McAllen and Hidalgo Texas. The PGR office in Reynosa in on the city’s southwestern side on one of the main boulevard’s called Hidalgo.

The PGR did not name the criminal organization that the cell belonged to, however, as Breitbart Texas previously reported, the Gulf Cartel has been controlling the border cities of Reynosa and Matamoros using the theft of fuel as one of their money makers.

The arrest took place on Friday in Reynosa when authorities arrested Iván “El Bam Bam”Beas Belmonte, the leader of the cell, and his henchmen Ricardo Martínez Cantú and Nohemí Alejandra Rodríguez Guevara, authorities said claiming the arrest was carried out by federal police forces. During the arrest, authorities seized weapons, approximately $76,970 Pesos (about $5,000 dollars), six cell phones and a vehicle.

Soon after the arrest the suspects were flown out of Reynosa.

On Monday the two men were formally charged by a federal judge in the Altiplano in the State of Mexico, while Rodriguez was charged at a women’s prison in the State of Morelos.

As Breitbart Texas reported, on Monday early morning, two SUVs with gunmen rammed the front gate of the PGR building in Reynosa and then began to shoot up the building. The attack did not leave any injuries, however, citizens remain alert since the added tension between cartel gunmen and military could result in large scale gun battles at any moment. 

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award winning journalist with Breitbart Texas you can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook.