The arrest in Mexico and repatriation of a U.S.-born Gulf Cartel member who had pending warrants in Texas on murder charges triggered a violent response by the criminal organization.
The case began last week when U.S. authorities received information that Obed Pena, who was wanted in Texas on murder charges, was living in Tamaulipas, U.S. Customs and Border Protection revealed in a statement.
On Thursday Tamaulipas state authorities captured Pena in the town of Diaz Ordaz. Mexican officials coordinated with CBP for his repatriation to the United States.
Information shared with Breitbart Texas by Tamaulipas state authorities revealed that during the arrest, they seized three vehicles, three radios, and several makeshift road spikes.
Pena is wanted in connection with a 2021 Hidalgo County murder. Breitbart Texas confirmed with various U.S. and Mexican law enforcement agencies that Pena was a local leader with the Gulf Cartel in the areas west of the border city of Reynosa.
By Thursday afternoon, Gulf Cartel gunmen began a series of attacks throughout Reynosa. The cartel focused on shooting out police surveillance cameras and used large trucks in an attempt to knock down the concrete poles used to hold the cameras, information provided to Breitbart Texas by the Tamaulipas government revealed.
Gunmen also carried out similar attacks in the cities of Diaz Ordaz, Miguel Aleman, and Camargo. The attacks continued into Friday night and early Saturday morning. Various videos on social media showed cartel members using stolen buses and trucks to ram the poles used to hold the police cameras.
While local residents reported hearing numerous shots being fired throughout the city, authorities claim that on Thursday night, no clashes took place between Gulf Cartel gunmen and authorities. They also claimed there have been no reports of injuries in Reynosa during the attacks.
By Friday morning, Mexican soldiers clashed with cartel gunmen in the city of Miguel Aleman whre they tried to remove blockades set up by the cartel.
Gulf Cartel gunmen also placed several banners throughout the region addressed to Mexican President Lopez Obrador, where they claim Tamaulipas Governor Francisco Cabeza de Vaca and his state police forces have been terrorizing the region.
Cabeza de Vaca called the Gulf Cartel actions a series of vandalism attacks in response to operations against criminal activity.
“We are not going to give up a single space to the criminal groups we are going to move forward firmly and with determination” Cabeza de Vaca responded in a prepared statement shared with news outlets. “In other parts of the country, they act differently, not here in Tamaulipas.”
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.
“J.C. Sanchez” from Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project contributed to this report.
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