Authorities on both sides of the border updated a regional list of the top 10 wanted cartel figures responsible for most of the violence and smuggling activities in recent months. The list includes Gulf Cartel and Cartel Del Noreste-Los Zetas members.
The list is a joint effort by authorities on both sides of the border that has helped lead to the captures of several cartel operators.
Known as the Se Busca campaign, the list is a joint effort between the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Tamaulipas State Police.
The updated list features the current regional leader for the Cartel Del Noreste faction of Los Zetas, Juan Gerardo “El Huevo” Trevino, who authorities say is responsible for multiple shootouts and atrocities as part of his turf war.
The list features other figures, including the leader of the Reynosa faction of the Gulf Cartel Cesar “El Primito” Morfin. Under El Primito’s leadership, the Gulf Cartel continues to control all the drug and human smuggling activities from Reynosa to Miguel Aleman and most of the Rio Grande Valley. In recent months, the drug boss has, however, seen his power and influence start to fade due to constant fighting with the Matamoros faction of the Gulf Cartel and the CDN-Los Zetas.
The list features two commanders for the Gulf Cartel in Reynosa that were reported on exclusively by Breitbart Texas in 2019 for leading human smuggling operations. Known as “La Mimi” and “La Mierda,” Hector Sanchez Rivera and brother Ernesto are responsible for most of the violence in Reynosa.
Missing from the list is the leader of the Matamoros faction of the Gulf Cartel, Evaristo “El Vaquero” Cruz, responsible for numerous shootouts and disappearances. He also made recent headlines for being able to deliver toys, gifts, food, and supplies to needy families during holidays. It remains unclear why El Vaquero was removed from Se Busca. The Tamaulipas government still offers a cash reward for his capture.
The complete list includes:
1) Juan Gerardo Treviño-Chavez aka “El Huevo”
2) Humberto Alejandro URIBE-Mendoza aka “Soruyo”
3) Ernesto SANCHEZ-Rivera aka “M22” or “Cuate”
4) Pablo Misael RAMOS-Lara aka “El Pantera” or “El Mezqui”
5) Hector SANCHEZ-Rivera aka “La Mimi, El Cuate, M1”
6) Cesar MORFIN-Morfin aka “El Primito”
7) Alvaro Noe Morfin Morfin aka “R-8”
8) Jose Martin Cardenas-Garcia aka “Chiwilly”
9) Agustin Ordorica-Lopez
10) Carlos Roel COLLAZO-Rodriguez aka “Chuy 7” or “Chuy Sierra” or “Collazo”
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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