EXCLUSIVE: Gulf Cartel Builds Extortion Rackets As Mexican Border State Governor Benefits

A faction of the Gulf Cartel has kicked an expansion effort into territories previously held by their rivals in the border state of Tamaulipas. Beyond drug corridors, the criminal organization wants control of government offices and professional organizations to build extortion rackets. Meanwhile, top officials are turning a blind eye to the events in exchange for favors.

Breitbart Texas traveled to Ciudad Mante, Tamaulipas, to meet with businessmen and politically connected figures to discuss how locals are forced to pay into extortion schemes to operatives identifying themselves as the Matamoros faction of the Gulf Cartel.

While the region has had an organized crime presence in the past, locals were hardly affected. In recent months, the cartel began charging substantial protection fees on innocents.

Protection Fees

The locals claimed the rackets began in early October when cattlemen and truckers received visits from operatives claiming to work for Nelson “El Luchador” Garza, a regional boss for the Gulf Cartel. Mexican authorities arrested Garza in 2009 on organized crime charges, however, the regional crime boss was released in 2021. Even though he has a criminal record, law enforcement sources say it has been erased from the official database, Plataforma Mexico.

The cattlemen say demands made on Garza’s behalf come from Pedro “El Perico” Zamarron, who requires $2 pesos per kilogram of a head of cattle sold at market.

If a cow weighs 500 kilograms, the seller pays $1,000 pesos ($50 USD) into the protection racket, a local cattleman explained.

Locals also identified another cartel-connected extortionist named Jorge “El Tamal” Moreno who has been strong-arming ranchers.

Recently, El Perico allegedly killed an associate of El Tamal over a fee collection disagreement.

Pedro Zamarrón, alias “Perico”, liberado en meses pasados por el #juez Víctor Fernando Reyes Hernández de #CiudadMante asesinó ayer por tarde al hermano de una persona que lo denunció por extorsión y lesionó a otra más de gravedad en el ejido Celaya de la región de #Mante

— ElGuzman (@FuriaNegra77) December 28, 2022

As for truckers, they claim to receive calls from Jonathan Damian “Escorpion 75” Castro Hernandez, who requires they raise their tariffs by 30 percent to be paid in cash or face consequences. Law enforcement sources say Escorpion 75 is a wanted Gulf Cartel fugitive operating in southern Tamaulipas.

Sugarcane farmers are also feeling pressure from Gulf Cartel-connected individuals. A woman named Cynthia Garza demands local sugarcane associations pay $3 million pesos ($150,000 USD) each per harvest. The region around Ciudad Mante has approximately 2,500 cane farmers belonging to two major associations.

Political Connections

Locals say Ciudad Mante changed in October 2022, soon after Governor Americo Villarreal of the national ruling party took office. They complain of state police forces no longer actively fighting cartel gunmen, which emboldens their operations.

Americo Villarreal met with and got a faction of the Gulf Cartel known as the Columna Armada Pedro J. Mendez to threaten locals into voting for him.

Americo Villarreal’s son, Americo “Ameriquin,” meets with organized crime to build alliances and favors. Their negotiations implicate fuel theft rings, illicit campaign finance, electioneering tactics, government contracts manipulation, and extortion rackets, a federal law enforcement source revealed. Breitbart Texas verified the claims with a local businessman and a former political figure.

In May, Breitbart Texas reported on another son of Villarreal, Humberto Francisco Villarreal Santiago, who was flagged in the Netherlands for bank fraud.

Helicopter Escape

This week, Mexican federal authorities seized an unmarked helicopter allegedly used during the escape of a cartel-connected political figure in Ciudad Mante. In October, the Gulf Cartel forced the president of the local water district to resign and installed Carlos Santiago Gonzalez as his replacement. Santiago Gonzalez also began extorting locals and is the target of an investigation by the Tamaulipas Attorney General’s Office (FGJE), which operates independently from Americo Villarreal’s administration. In recent weeks, when FGJE agents went to Ciudad Mante to arrest Santiago Gonzalez, Gulf Cartel gunmen called in four separate bomb threats to government buildings, schools, and a hospital. During a diversion, the unmarked helicopter landed on a soccer field for Santiago Gonzalez to board and escape to Matamoros.

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.