MONTERREY, Nuevo León — The ongoing war for control of Nuevo Leon’s drug trafficking and smuggling routes led to the murder of a top cartel operator as he walked out of a butcher shop.
Surveillance video obtained by Breitbart Texas revealed the moment when Cesar “La Borrega” Niño Garcia was exiting a local business and two cartel gunmen shot him with pistols. Niño Garcia was caught off-guard and collapsed before he could react.
The latest murder is just one in an ongoing series of executions where rival factions of the Beltran Leyva Cartel continue to fight for control of key areas in the industrial city of Monterrey.
A law enforcement source revealed to Breitbart Texas that Niño Garcia was the victim of a well-planned execution where two gunmen went after the victim while a third worked as the getaway driver. During the murder, Niño Garcia’s wife and daughter went into shock after seeing their loved one’s bloodied body.
The man known as “La Borrega” was a long-time operator for the Beltran Leyva Cartel and was previously arrested with a large cache of weapons and drugs in 2009 which led to the arrest of top regional leader Omar “El 34” Ibarra Lozano. Once a top SWAT officer in Nuevo Leon, Ibarra Lozano switched sides and was able to bribe most of the police in San Pedro to join his ranks.
After spending time in prison, La Borrega was believed to be operating with one of the cartel factions until his murder. Niño Garcia worked with a faction led by Hector “La Burra or HH” Huerta Rios, who briefly lost control when he was captured by authorities–but was eventually released. For several months, La Burra faction was at war with Rodolfo “El Gato” Villarreal Hernandez, who took control of the cartel after La Burra’s arrest.
Editor’s Note: Breitbart Texas traveled to the Mexican States of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, and Nuevo León to recruit citizen journalists willing to risk their lives and expose the cartels silencing their communities. The writers would face certain death at the hands of the various cartels that operate in those areas including the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas if a pseudonym were not used. Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles are published in both English and in their original Spanish. This article was written by Tony Aranda de Nuevo León.