Military Raids Shake Up Gulf Cartel in Mexican Border State

A series of raids in the Mexican border state of Tamaulipas shook up one of the leading factions of the Gulf Cartel and led to several high-profile arrests. For more than a year, one particular faction of the Gulf Cartel had been untouched by Mexican federal and state authorities due to the country’s widespread corruption. However, in recent weeks, both sides appear to have had a breakdown in their relationship, leading to a series of raids by authorities and targeted attacks by cartel gunmen.

One of the main operations took place over the weekend in Tampico, Tamaulipas. According to a written statement from Secretaria de Seguridad y Proteccion Ciudadana (SSCP), federal authorities arrested Antonio Guadalupe “Escorpion 17” Perez Dominguez, a top leader of the Escorpiones and Ciclones faction of the Gulf Cartel. Secretaria de Seguridad y Proteccion Ciudadana is the new name for the Mexican federal police.

Based in the border city of Matamoros, the Escorpiones is one of two main factions of the Gulf Cartel. The cartel faction has been at war for over a year for control of lucrative drug and human smuggling routes into Texas. In recent weeks, the Escorpiones experienced a series of internal conflicts, with some of their top commanders turning on each other. The conflicts benefited their rival Gulf Cartel factions.

After capturing Perez Dominguez, authorities quickly flew him to Mexico City. Authorities placed him inside a federal detention center called Altiplano in the town of Almoloya de Juarez in the state of Mexico. He is facing federal organized crime along with drug and weapons charges.

Since that initial raid, authorities have carried out seven other raids in the border city of Matamoros, where they have been targeting stash houses allegedly run by the Gulf Cartel. From those raids, authorities seized several drug loads and weapons and arrested three cartel operators. The three individuals have been identified as:

• Daniel Isidoro N aka “El Dany”, who is listed as a lieutenant within the Escorpiones faction of the Gulf Cartel.
• Leonardo Daniel “N” aka “El Pepino” who is in charge of communications and is believed to run the video monitoring centers throughout the city.
• Perla Guadalupe “N” aka “La Cunada”  who is listed by authorities as a financial operator for the Gulf Cartel.

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.