U.S. authorities arrested a Texas man accused of buying firearms for the Gulf Cartel, including one used in the kidnapping of four Americans in Matamoros. Two died in the incident.
On Monday, Roberto Lugardo Moreno went before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald Morgan in Brownsville, Texas, where he was notified of the charges against him and was ordered to be held without bond.
According to a criminal complaint filed by an agent with U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, on March 14, authorities received the serial number for a Diamondback AR-type pistol that was seized in Matamoros.
Agents were able to discover that the weapon had been purchased in 2019 allegedly by Lugardo Moreno. He was arrested on March 17, court documents revealed. During an interview, the man allegedly told agents he would buy weapons for a member of the Gulf Cartel. He received $100 for purchasing this particular weapon.
Authorities claim the firearm was used by Gulf Cartel gunmen on March 3, when they chased, shot, and kidnapped Latavia “Tay” McGee, Shaeed Woodard, Zindell Brown and Eric James Williams in Matamoros. The gunmen took their victims to a hospital in Matamoros and moved them around the city using government ambulances. By the time Mexican authorities found the victims in a stash house, two had died. Soon after, the Gulf Cartel surrendered five of their gunmen — claiming they acted on their own.
In the aftermath, Breitbart Texas exposed one of the city officials overseeing EMS services a prior enforcer for the Gulf Cartel. City officials quietly removed Pedro “El Polaris” Hernandez Quiroga and two others. An investigation continues into how the cartel had access to government ambulances.
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.
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