The criminal terrorist organization known as Cartel Del Noreste, a faction of Los Zetas, is behind the mass kidnappings of victims in a Mexican border state, sources revealed to Breitbart Texas. However, instead of limiting itself to people who have ties or debts to trafficking, the cartel adopted the tactic of taking entire families hostage.
The mass kidnappings are carried out by a bloodthirsty CDN-Los Zetas commander who takes the victims to Nuevo Laredo, U.S. federal sources operating in Mexico revealed.
In recent days, hitmen in several vans headed from the border city of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, to the municipalities of Salinas Victoria and Ciénega de Flores in Nuevo León; The hitmen kidnapped at least 30 victims in a span of days. The kidnappings began on March 21 in Ciénega de Flores, and the gunmen returned in the early hours of March 24 when they broke into several homes and took more than a dozen victims.
The kidnappings continued on March 27 in Salinas Victoria, where armed men arrived at five different homes and kidnapped 14 victims, including six young children. The victims were then taken to Nuevo Laredo under orders from the cartel.
Subsequently, CDN gunmen freed seven victims who had been kidnapped in the Ciénega de Flores, while six remain missing. In Salinas Victoria, most of the victims have been released. The gunmen also freed three victims, including two young children, who had been taken along with three other people from another nearby community.
The issue has drawn national attention in Mexico, as federal government officials try to downplay the case. Officials deployed military forces and other resources to the north.
Breitbart Texas met with U.S. law enforcement sources operating in northern Mexico, who revealed that the case is not the first of its kind and that CDN-Los Zetas has been behind similar recent cases that have not received media attention.
The kidnappings are being carried out by a cell led by Vladimir “El Catracho” Funes, 35, who is based in Nuevo Laredo, sources explained. The cell behind the kidnappings is called Los Catrachos. The American police source added that “El Catracho” operates under the orders of Ricardo “El R1” Gonzalez Sauceda, a commander with the CDN-Los Zetas who himself answers to the current leader of the CDN-Los Zetas, Juan “El Juanito” Cisneros Treviño.
The Catrachos focused on taking some individuals who are believed to be consumers and who could owe money or have other ties to the cartel in towns in the northern part of Nuevo León. The gunmen have been moving through their territory in multi-vehicle convoys with ease. In their operations, the cartel has taken away entire families, which has recently sparked outrage and media attention in Mexico. According to a U.S. police source, this is the reason why the cartel has released some of the victims.
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.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.