The top police official in the Mexican border state of Tamaulipas sparked much controversy after he publicly begged the drug cartels that control his state to “behave” in the upcoming summer elections.
This week, Sergio Hernando Chavez, the Tamaulipas Public Safety Secretary, asked drug cartels in his state to behave during the June 2 presidential elections, claiming that peace was needed to keep or “renew” local officials and state legislators for the benefit of the state.
Chavez made those comments before local news outlets in Tamaulipas, where he claimed his agency was working to ensure the state was safe for the election. On June 2, Mexico will hold a national election for president and various state and local elections.
El secretario de Seguridad Pública de #Tamaulipas, Sergio Chávez, pidió a “quienes se dedican a las actividades delictivas” respetar para que la gente pueda salir a votar el próximo 2 de junio: pic.twitter.com/joUrNYQuG3
— Ciro Gómez Leyva (@CiroGomezL) January 16, 2024
Pundits and opposition leaders jumped at Chavez’s comments, claiming that they proved that the state was controlled by drug cartels and not by the government. The state’s top police official has been criticized at the national level for being completely impotent in stopping cartel violence in his state while his staff uses demonstrably false statistics to claim the region is safe. Within police circles, Chavez has also become a running joke for falling asleep during security meetings, law enforcement sources revealed to Breitbart Texas.
Under Chavez’s watch, the Gulf Cartel has avoided facing any real consequences for several high-profile crimes that have made national and international news.
Most recently, the Gulf Cartel kidnapped 32 migrants from a passenger bus near the city of Nuevo Progreso. The case became another scandal when authorities claimed to have rescued the migrants. Days later, Mexico’s president was forced to admit that the cartel had released them and no rescue had taken place — confirming Breitbart Texas’ initial reporting on the case.
Similarly, in March 2023, the Gulf Cartel kidnapped four U.S. citizens, killing two of them. Chavez and federal authorities claimed to have rescued them when, in fact, the Gulf Cartel had left them in a stash house to be found and soon after left a group of tied-up gunmen who had allegedly taken part in the kidnapping. As Breitbart Texas reported exclusively, the Gulf Cartel used city-owned ambulances to move the kidnapping victims and had the help and protection of a top city official who was a former Gulf Cartel gunman.
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.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.