Murders Spike in Mexican Border State Capital amid Cartel Turf Fight

A renewed cartel turf war has led to a bloody start for 2022 in the capital region of a Mexican border state.

Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas, and nearby municipalities have suffered roughly 10 identified murders as part of the fight for control between the Gulf Cartel and the Cartel Del Noreste faction of Los Zetas.

The most recent murder took place last Thursday when gunmen from CDN-Los Zetas raided a stash house in Llera, killing regional Gulf Cartel commander José Luis “El Choche” Hernández Reyes and Roosevelt Doria Vega. Responding authorities found drug baggies with the Gulf Cartel logo, plus body armor and ammunition. Llera was controlled by CDN-Los Zetas but fell to the Gulf in recent months.

The same day, but on the western side of Ciudad Victoria, gunmen shot and killed 16-year-old Carlos Antonio “El Tapia” Ramirez Tapia, a street-level dealer. Hours later, gunmen with the Gulf Cartel shot and killed Alejandro “El Naomi” Requena Espino inside a hotel. Requena was considered by authorities a large-scale distributor for synthetic drugs and a top enforcer for the CDN-Los Zetas linked to murders in the region.

On January 18, Gulf Cartel gunmen on motorcycles tried to kill 17-year-old Carlos Daniel “El Marro” Perales Sánchez, a meth dealer. Despite being shot six times, Perales survived and remains hospitalized in serious condition.

Earlier in the month, gunmen suspected of being with the Gulf Cartel shot and killed three men at a rival stash house.

Editor’s Note: Breitbart Texas traveled to Mexico City and the states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, and Nuevo León to recruit citizen journalists willing to risk their lives and expose the cartels silencing their communities.  The writers would face certain death at the hands of the various cartels that operate in those areas including the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas if a pseudonym were not used. Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles are published in both English and in their original Spanish. This article was written by “Francisco Morales” from Tamaulipas.