Gulf Cartel

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.

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. 

Federal authorities identified an illegal fishing operation used by the Gulf Cartel that doubles as a human smuggling and drug trafficking scheme.

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.

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.

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.

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 cartel gunmen kidnapped a Mexican border state senator and held him for hours, highlighting the control that criminal organizations continue to have in the state of Tamaulipas. The case details remain unknown, but relatives confirmed that the politician was home by Saturday morning. Unofficial information points to the gunmen releasing the politician, who made his way to a nearby house where he asked for help.

A Gulf Cartel lieutenant faces charges for his alleged role in a 2021 shootout that killed 14 innocent bystanders. The local organized crime boss was also accused of numerous kidnappings in various border cities in Tamaulipas. 

Local college students ran for cover as cartel gunmen clashed with Tamaulipas state police forces near a university campus in the Mexican border city of Matamoros.

Mexican border state police forces killed 11 cartel gunmen during a series of shootouts where gunmen sought to terrorize locals. The shootouts took place in the Mexican border state of Nuevo Leon.

A former Texas border city mayor pleaded guilty to federal drug trafficking conspiracy charges in a plot that allegedly involved his successor, a local school board president, and several others in moving cocaine shipments from South Texas to Houston.

A gunman slapped and tried to beat up a top Gulf Cartel lieutenant, blaming him for his imminent capture after state authorities found them. Police found them, along with several other men, as they were drinking and smoking marijuana in a safehouse not far from the border with Texas.

A former border state governor in Mexico is lashing out at current authorities in Tamaulipas over their attempted coverup of a case where suspected cartel gunmen tried to take his son who was driving along a highway. The former governor claimed that the current state government has worked hand in hand with drug cartels, and the growing crime and lawlessness in the region is a reflection of that.

Speculation is running wild on both sides of the border following the release from prison of a man once known as the supreme leader of the Gulf Cartel and founder of Los Zetas. Some individuals were expecting him to return to his hometown and reclaim the reigns of his criminal organization. Others claimed he would stay in the U.S. under witness protection. The issue caused widespread speculation and rumors to spread like wildfire.

Authorities in the Mexican border state of Tamaulipas have confirmed the discovery of two separate locations used by cartel gunmen to kill and incinerate the remains of their victims. Cartel crematoriums and clandestine gravesites have become almost commonplace in various parts of Mexico as criminal organizations try to avoid attention by not leaving bodies behind. The disposal of remains also allows government officials to hide the levels of violence by filing most cases as missing persons instead of murders or kidnappings.

Las autoridades del estado fronterizo de Tamaulipas confirmaron el descubrimiento de dos lugares utilizados por sicarios de los cárteles para matar e incinerar los restos de sus víctimas. Los crematorios de los cárteles y las fosas clandestinas se han vuelto algo común en varias partes de México, ya que las organizaciones criminales tratan de evitar la atención al no dejar cuerpos, algo que también permite a los funcionarios del gobierno ocultar los niveles de violencia al dar carpetazo a la mayoría de los casos como personas desaparecidas en lugar de asesinatos o secuestros.

Government officials in Mexico have been working to portray an image of peace in the border state of Tamaulipas by using doctored crime stats and making misleading statements to news outlets. In reality, several drug cartels have been waging fierce turf wars throughout the state. The violence rose exponentially in recent weeks as drug cartels have become more brazen.

Funcionarios gubernamentales en México han estado trabajando para presentar una imagen pacífica en el estado fronterizo de Tamaulipas falseando estadísticas del crimen y hacienda declaraciones engañosas a los medios de comunicación cuando en realidad, varios cárteles de la droga han estado peleando violentas guerras territoriales a lo largo del estado. La violencia se ha elevado de manera exponencial en semanas recientes y los cárteles de la droga se han vuelto más descarados.

Two gunmen tried to kidnap the father of a Mexican border city mayor and then shot at him as the gunmen tried to escape. The attack comes as Tamaulipas state officials continue to claim that the region is safe despite several recent high-profile kidnappings.

Authorities in Mexico confirmed the disappearance of a U.S. citizen from Iowa who had been missing for several days after crossing the border. The disappearance comes at a time when government officials continue to claim that security conditions have been improving. However, criminal organizations like the Gulf Cartel can operate with almost complete impunity.

A group of gunmen shot and killed a business leader in the border city of Matamoros, Tamaulipas. The businessman gained national notoriety for being very outspoken about cartel extortions, crime, violence, and the widespread corruption in the border state of Tamaulipas.

In yet another resounding example of the Mexican government’s inability to protect its citizens, a family in the border city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas, was forced to pay the Gulf Cartel approximately $40,000 USD for the release of their loved one. Government authorities could not help in the case, as relatives and activists were forced to plea to the dominant criminal organizations in the region to help.

Activists in the border city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas, called on two drug cartels that control the region to help restore peace and end senseless kidnappings after government officials and authorities have been unable to do so. The call for help

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.

Authorities in the border state of Tamaulipas are trying to downplay a series of kidnappings and cartel killings in the central part of the state. The violence comes as one faction of the Gulf Cartel makes a push to expand their territories into the central part of the state.

The U.S. Department of State issued a new travel alert about cartel gunmen kidnapping American passengers from buses traveling through the border city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas. The advisory comes even after Mexican border state officials dismissed a prior alert claiming the region has minimal crime statistics.

Mexican authorities arrested a former U.S. soldier who had allegedly been building explosives for the Gulf Cartel just south of the Texas border. The arrest had been kept largely under wraps as federal authorities built up the case against him,

The United States Consulate in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, is sounding the alarm about the targeting of U.S. citizens, residents, and people with connections in the U.S. for ransom kidnappings while traveling on passenger buses.

The son of a Gulf Cartel operator who helped run a large-scale operation in Texas will spend two and a half years in federal prison for trying to intimidate federal agents. The agents were hunting for his father and potential witnesses against him.

A mayoral candidate in the border city of Matamoros, Tamaulipas, canceled her final campaign event after a recording artist headlining her event received a series of threats believed to come from the Gulf Cartel.

A Mexican border state official actively worked with the Gulf Cartel to lure a group of businessmen to a local restaurant where gunmen from the Gulf Cartel then threatened them and extorted them. The businessmen provide food-vendor services to various international manufacturing companies operating in the border city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas.

Gulf Cartel gunmen ambushed a squad of police officers, killing two, in a Mexican border city that Tamaulipas government officials claim is safe. The killing comes after a full day of cartel blockades and shootouts that spread terror among locals.

The Gulf Cartel instituted a tax against homeowners in the Mexican border city of Matamoros, Tamaulipas, for the right to have trees on their property. The government-protected criminal organization has a long history of being able to operate with complete impunity in that city.

Mexico’s government continues to suppress information about the raging cartel violence that plagues one of its main border cities. The lack of information is further worsened by a gag order of sorts placed by organized crime on local news outlets in the city of Matamoros, Tamaulipas.

Government officials in the Mexican border state of Tamaulipas are trying to cover up a large explosion that leveled several homes. Officials claim a gas leak caused the explosion. The explosion reportedly happened in a cartel stash house where they kept weapons and improvised explosive devices.