Cartel Commander Killed After Kidnapping Mexican Governor’s Cousin

A cartel commander recently stabbed to death in a border state prison was facing charges for various kidnap jobs. One victim was the Tamaulipas governor’s cousin.

This week, three inmates ambushed and murdered top Gulf Cartel commander Hector Adrian “La Yegua”  Lucio Benavides in Altamira, Tamaulipas. Lucio was arrested only days before in the neighboring state of Nuevo León, where he was hiding and ordering various high-profile kidnappings. The cartel boss was eventually arrested in Monterrey by the Nuevo León State Investigations Agency.

Law enforcement sources revealed to Breitbart Texas that La Yegua was a top target of the Mexican government for more than a year due to his connections with large-scale fuel theft, extortion, and the kidnapping of the Tamaulipas governor’s cousin.

The kidnapping of Raul Alejandro Monje Castillo, a second cousin of Gov. Francisco Cabeza de Vaca, triggered a substantial search and rescue operation in late June. The victim was a local official at the water and sewage district. Despite the recovery operation, authorities were not able to find him. Monje was released unharmed a month after in Veracruz, approximately 45 miles from the kidnapping location. Monje’s driver–also grabbed at the time–remains missing. Authorities believe he was murdered.

The Tamaulipas government remains generally quiet about the Monje kidnapping. At the time of Lucio’s arrest, officials revealed the late kingpin demanded $10 million pesos for the release of a hostage, although they were unclear on the victim’s identity.

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 from Nuevo León.