A leading Gulf Cartel member who was previously caught running his criminal organization under house arrest is back in business after a second border state judge granted him a new order to remain home.
Known in the criminal underworld as “El 90 or El Juanito or Juanillo,” Juan Manuel Hernandez Vasquez managed to continue leading his criminal empire despite numerous arrests.
Breitbart Texas consulted with U.S. law enforcement sources in Mexico who revealed that Juanito is the leader of one of the largest fuel theft organizations in Nuevo Leon with protections from authorities. Moving largely out of the drug trade in recent months, the Gulf Cartel member from Matamoros currently runs cells in Hidalgo, El Carmen, Salinas Victoria, and Mina in Nuevo Leon. Authorities recently arrested a narco-terrorist named Adrián Alfonso “El Trailer” Castillo Miguel who was preparing to blow up a government building after Juanito and others cut him out of the business.
Despite his lengthy criminal history and currently alleged criminal activities, court documents show Juanito is listed under house arrest on an order signed by Nuevo Leon State Judge Leonel Cisneros Garza in January. The charges before that judge follow his December arrest for possession of a Glock pistol outside his home during a prior house arrest order. At the time, authorities also arrested two former Mexican soldiers who worked as bodyguards.
One of the retired soldiers, Jose Ruben Aguilar Valdez, served for a period as the top coordinator for the Tamaulipas State Police. The second military official, Mario Antonio Saguilan Olmos, was a captain in Mexico’s Army. Both of the former soldiers claimed to not know of Juanito’s criminal history since they were hired through a private security firm.
When state authorities arrested Juanito, he was serving another term of house arrest in connection with January 2019 drug and bribery charges. Judge Juan Manuel Cardenas Gonzalez sent him home in the summer of 2019.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.
Tony Aranda from Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project contributed to this report
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