A fearsome narco-terrorist with a history of using car bombs managed to establish drug and human smuggling corridors on top of a lucrative fuel theft operation. The now-jailed crime lord tried to disguise his organization by claiming it was a “self-defense group” to protect local innocents from cartels.
Known by the nicknames “El Tarzan and El Profe,” Octavio Leal Moncada is the leader of a criminal organization allied with the Gulf Cartel called the Pedro J. Mendez Armed Column in Hidalgo, Tamaulipas. The Nuevo Leon Attorney General’s Office assisted counterparts in Tamaulipas in arresting Leal Moncada while visiting Monterrey. Authorities in Tamaulipas had warrants against him for murder.
After his arrest, hundreds of Leal Moncada’s followers blocked the highway that connects Ciudad Victoria with Monterrey. The blockades were followed by protests calling for the drug lord’s release.
Breitbart Texas obtained intelligence files and maps from Mexican federal police sources which identify the routes that Leal Moncada’s criminal organization used to smuggle migrants. Law enforcement sources revealed that along those routes, Leal Moncada and his organization operate stash houses to move large numbers of migrants from southern Tamaulipas to Monterrey or the town of General Bravo. From there, migrants would be smuggled into border cities controlled by the Gulf Cartel such as Reynosa, Camargo, or Miguel Aleman, where they would be crossed into Texas.
In a similar fashion, Leal Moncada’s organization would tap fuel lines to siphon and fill large containers from Mexico’s state-owned fuel company, Pemex. Criminal organizations such as the Gulf Cartel leverage fuel theft for additional revenue.
A map leaked to Breitbart Texas by Mexican federal law enforcement sources revealed that a fuel line from Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas, to Cadereyta, Nuevo Leon, runs near Leal Moncada’s base in Hidalgo.
Leal Moncada’s organization is also linked to cattle rustling and the widespread extortion of local agriculture interests. The organization has been linked to murders, forced disappearances, kidnappings, and terror-style attacks where gunmen target those who refuse to pay or surrender their properties. Law enforcement sources also revealed that Leal Moncada killed one of his relatives in 2010 who switched his allegiance to another organization.
Moncada Leal also has a history of using car bombs and was even mentioned in a recording where Gulf Cartel commanders talked about having him target law enforcement with explosives.
On the day of Leal Moncada’s arrest in Monterrey, authorities in the ritzy suburb of San Pedro arrested his son also named Octavio “Tavo” Leal after he physically assaulted a local plastic surgeon. Police reports from San Pedro revealed that Leal used a Taser and kicked the victim several times. The assault and arrest sparked a scandal since Leal’s wife is a socialite and influencer named Andy Benavides.
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.
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