Mexican military forces arrested one of the top commanders of Los Zetas Cartel in the border city of Nuevo Laredo. The ruthless commander was listed as an international fugitive.
The arrest took place early this week when military forces clashed with gunmen from the Cartel Del Noreste faction of Los Zetas in Nuevo Laredo. That shootout came after several days of local battles with troops, killing 13 gunmen. One soldier was injured, the Mexican Army revealed.
During those shootouts, military forces arrested Martin “Cadete” Barbosa, the chief of security for the head of the CDN-Los Zetas, Juan Gerardo “El Huevo” Trevino Chavez. Feds turned El Cadete over to Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office. If federal authorities do not prosecute him, Tamaulipas state officials have several pending charges and offered a $100,000 USD reward for his capture.
El Cadete’s arrest is considered a heavy blow to the CDN-Los Zetas because of his depth of understanding and involvement in the cartel’s internal operations. In recent months, Nuevo Laredo has seen a dramatic increase in forced disappearances, particularly along highways. Authorities believe the wave of kidnappings is tied to a surge of protective efforts around El Huevo since he is at odds with his cousin, Juan “Juanito” Cisneros Treviño, over control of the organization.
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.
Gerald “Tony” Aranda is an international journalist with more than 20 years of experience working in high-risk areas for print and broadcast news outlets investigating organized crime, corruption, and drug trafficking in the U.S. and Mexico. In 2016, Gerald took up the pseudonym of “Tony” when he joined Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project. Since then, he has come out of the shadows and become a contributing writer for Breitbart Texas.
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