Two leaders of Los Zetas Cartel and one of their top gunmen received a series of sentences for pending charges tied to their role in the kidnapping and murder of numerous migrants between 2010 and 2011 in San Fernando, Tamaulipas.
Members of an NGO who search for clandestine gravesites found a burning body in a covert crematorium near the Texas border. The discovery is the latest of its kind in the border city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas, where the Gulf Cartel has a long history of disposing of its victims by incinerating them.
The raging cartel violence that has terrorized the state of Sinaloa for months led to the closing of IHOP restaurants in that region. The restaurant is one of numerous businesses that closed in that Mexican state, which continues to see brutal cartel fighting, targeted killings, abductions, and terror-style attacks. Public officials continue to claim public safety is improving.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced an open investigation by the country’s attorney general’s office against the mayor of Coalcoman, Michoacan, over a Christmas party. Government officials in attendance allegedly praised various drug kingpins from Cartel Jalisco New Generation for “their generosity” in giving a large number of gifts to local children.
Cartel gunmen continued to carry out numerous killings throughout the Mexican state of Tamaulipas while government officials shamelessly claimed crime had dropped and that impunity had ended.
Sinaloa Cartel pilots flew over several cities, dropping leaflets accusing Sinaloa Governor Ruben Rocha Moya and other officials of working to help the Chapitos faction. The action comes amid a fierce months-long turf war that killed or led to the forced abduction of thousands.
A group of cartel gunmen left four bodies inside a truck in the border city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas, in an area near a manufacturing plant from the South Korean company LG.
Authorities in Mexico are investigating the targeted killing of a Canadian man who had pending arrest warrants in his home country for arms trafficking and human trafficking. The murder took place on Saturday outside a busy shopping plaza in Playa Del Carmen, Quintana Roo, a popular beach destination just a short drive from Cancun.
Four Mexican soldiers died in two separate incidents this week where cartel gunmen used improvised explosive devices and land mines in the rural areas of the state of Michoacán. The explosives are part of a strategy used by rival cartels waging a fierce turf war for control of drug production and trafficking routes.
Mexican federal prosecutors have requested the extradition of a convicted drug lord, turned protected witness, following his recent re-arrest on new drug charges. Among the charges that Mexico is trying to prosecute the drug lord for is his role as one of the masterminds in the murder of famed Mexican journalist and author Javier Valdez.
A group of gunmen stormed a clandestine cockfighting ring and began shooting into the crowd in a violent attack that killed four men and injured three others. The shootout is the latest of a growing wave of hyperviolent crimes that have plagued Mexico while the government claims the country has improved in public safety.
A group of neighbors in the border city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas, brutally beat a man that they allegedly caught breaking into a home. The mob beat the man, and they tied him to a light pole before calling first responders. The man died shortly after from the injuries sustained.
A group of gunmen in South Texas kidnapped two victims and held them in the border city of Brownsville, Texas. The gunmen tortured them for days over the alleged theft of drugs.
Authorities in Mexico confirmed that a lynch mob beat and then hung three men who were allegedly trying to break into a home and kidnap a 5-year-old girl.
The recent federal conviction and sentence of a man who tried to run over an FBI agent while driving a stolen truck into Mexico highlights a growing trend plaguing South Texas. Multiple cities are seeing a rise in the thefts of four-door SUVs and pickups that are taken into Mexico at the request of the Gulf Cartel. The criminal organization uses the trucks in their ongoing turf wars.
A border state Mexican police officer is recovering in a local hospital after a group of cartel gunmen kidnapped him, tortured him, undressed him, and threw him in an irrigation canal.
Mexico’s Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero announced that a Mexican federal judge is the target of a corruption investigation after he ordered the release of one of the top leaders of the Gulf Cartel.
Authorities in Mexico rescued 22 migrants being held by cartel gunmen at a ranch in southern Mexico. The rescue came after a fierce gun battle where a soldier and a police officer died during the clash with more than 15 gunmen.
Federal authorities identified an illegal fishing operation used by the Gulf Cartel that doubles as a human smuggling and drug trafficking scheme.
A turf war between rival factions of the Gulf Cartel and their allies has been expanding into various cities as gunmen continue to use explosives not only as makeshift landmines but also as dropped projectiles from drones.
Authorities in Mexico have confirmed two separate attacks that killed seven victims and injured over a dozen others in the southern state of Tabasco. One of the attacks took place inside a packed bar, while a second at a wedding.
A Mexican judge with a history of questionable rulings ordered the release of one of the leaders of the Gulf Cartel. The alleged crime boss is fighting a slew of charges and extradition to the U.S. However, thanks to the ruling, he was granted his release on bond. This particular cartel boss has a history of suspicious releases where authorities have dismissed his prior cases on technicalities. He has a pending criminal indictment in the U.S. filed by the Department of Justice.
The man responsible for establishing a reign of terror in part of Mexico’s northern border region pleaded guilty to several drug trafficking and money laundering charges in a U.S. federal court. He is facing a possible life term in prison. That cartel boss is not only responsible for ordering hundreds of forced disappearances and establishing clandestine gravesites in northern Mexico but his gunmen are directly linked to a brazen attack on the U.S. Consulate building in Nuevo Laredo.
Cartel gunmen continue carrying out targeted killings, engaging in shootouts, and setting up highway blockades with complete impunity. At the same time, government officials in the Mexican states of Tamaulipas and Nuevo Leon try to deny the violence, claiming it is all mass hysteria.
Two European countries reportedly warned their citizens about possible cartel terror attacks in Mexico. The warnings come as Mexico has seen a dramatic rise in terror-style attacks, such as random shootings at bars and the use of car bombs and other explosives by cartels.
Authorities in Spain announced the recent arrest of a Sinaloa Cartel cell that they had linked to drug trafficking, ransom kidnapping, and murders in that country. As part of the raids tied to the cell, Spanish authorities also dismantled a lab that cartel members used to remove synthetic drugs that had been infused into clothing to smuggle them into the country.
A group of gunmen stormed yet another bar in central Mexico, killing five victims and injuring seven others. The shooting is the second of its kind in as many days where gunmen have fired indiscriminately at bar patrons in Mexico.
A group of gunmen stormed a bar, shooting indiscriminately into the crowd, killing ten victims, and injuring eight others in the central Mexican state of Queretaro.
Authorities in Mexico are on the hunt for at least one kidnaping suspect after two gunmen rescued him and another man during a prisoner transfer in central Mexico.
A group of Gulf Cartel gunmen set fire to a state police armored vehicle after a violent shootout just south of the Texas border. The gunmen outnumbered and outgunned a squad of police officers. The officers were forced to run away after military and federal police forces (National Guard) refused to answer their calls for help.
Un grupo de pistoleros del Cártel del Golfo prendió fuego a un vehículo blindado de la policía estatal después de un violento tiroteo al sur de la frontera con Texas, donde superaban en número y armamento a un escuadrón de estatales. Los oficiales se vieron obligados a huir después de que las fuerzas militares y de la Guardia Nacional se negaran a responder a sus llamadas de ayuda.
Gunmen shot and killed two journalists in less than 24 hours in separate incidents in Mexico. The killings come as press freedom organizations continue to point to Mexico as one of the most dangerous places for news workers.
The Texas Department of Public Safety released a video showing the chaos occurring along the U.S.-Mexico border resulting from the open-border policies of the Biden-Harris administration. The video shows multiple human smuggling operations, drug seizures, and cartel gun battles near the border.
A former special forces police officer in the state of Tamaulipas switched sides and became a cell leader within the Gulf Cartel. Most recently, the cop turned drug lord was behind most of the violence in the central part of Tamaulipas, particularly in the cities of Jimenez, Abasolo, and Soto La Marina.
Two Mexican mayors had their vehicles taken at gunpoint by cartel operators in the state of Sinaloa. The region has been overwhelmed by a fierce turf war between rival factions of the Sinaloa Cartel. The carjackings do not appear to have been coordinated, but both took place at around the same time as both mayors traveled to the state capital to meet with the governor.
Authorities in Mexico confirmed that 11 of the 15 hitmen arrested for their role in a series of cartel gunbattles in the state of Guerrero are from Guatemala and El Salvador. The other four are Mexican citizens.
Mexican Army soldiers killed 19 cartel gunmen and arrested a local crime boss during a shootout this week in the war-torn state of Sinaloa. The shootout comes as two rival factions of the Sinaloa Cartel wage a fierce turf war, leading to hundreds of murders and forced disappearances.
A group of tourists who were traveling from the northern Mexican border region to western Mexico came under fire in the central part of the country during an apparent highway robbery attempt.
Mexican military forces clashed with Gulf Cartel gunmen in the border city of Rio Bravo, Tamaulipas. The clashes come after months of military forces avoiding direct conflict with gunmen. The shift in strategy comes after Gulf Cartel gunmen began using drones to drop explosive devices on rival gunmen and police forces in areas just south of the Texas border.
A group of gunmen fired at least a dozen shots at the offices of one of the main newspapers in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. The attack comes as Sinaloa is ground zero for a fierce turf war between rival cartel factions. Mexico’s government has largely avoided interfering despite deploying hundreds of soldiers to the region.
