CIUDAD VICTORIA, Tamaulipas – The Gulf Cartel is threatening state police investigators as they probe the organization’s recent publicity stunt where they distributed food packages amid the Coronavirus pandemic.

Earlier this month, the Matamoros faction of the Gulf Cartel handed out dozens of boxes with basic food items in Ciudad Victoria, Valle Hermoso, and Matamoros. The violent organization currently led by Evaristo “El Vaquero” Cruz circulated hundreds of photographs of gunmen providing the items.

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Other cartels followed suit. The acts drew so much media attention that President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador asked the cartels to be less violent if they wanted to be charitable.

In early April, El Vaquero’s men went to a GranD grocery store and purchased 100 boxes of food. The gunmen also placed stickers with the Gulf Cartel’s logo on the packages. State investigators were able to identify the cartel grocery shopper by his SUV’s plates caught on security footage.

Authorities went to the address where the SUV is registered, spoke with the owner of the vehicle, and were told it was rented to an anonymous party. Police seized the vehicle and the owner filed a complaint in response.

News of the investigation eventually reached the Gulf Cartel. El Vaquero issued threats to state investigators, ordering his men to kill anyone who asks questions about the food boxes. Police stepped up security measures at buildings and alerted personnel.

One week after the first delivery of boxes in Ciudad Victoria, El Vaquero’s men distributed in Valle Hermoso, Control Ramirez, and Matamoros complete with hundreds of photographs to show for their efforts.

El Vaquero is currently listed as a most wanted fugitive in both Tamaulipas and in Texas (#4) for his role as the leader of Matamoros faction of the Gulf Cartel. Tamaulipas is offering a reward of $2 million pesos or $80,000 USD for his capture.

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 “Francisco Morales” from Tamaulipas.