Cartel Violence - Page 2

Police in the Mexican border state of Tamaulipas are ignoring innocent cartel victims and not responding to the scenes of attacks. This new development allows cartel gunmen to attack innocent victims with complete impunity while government officials claim that crime is decreasing in the cartel-controlled state.

Authorities in Mexico confirmed a large-scale shootout in the hyperviolent western state of Sinaloa, where 13 gunmen died while trying to ambush a squad of Mexican soldiers. In the aftermath of the clash, authorities also reported rescuing nine kidnapping victims.

The cartel-connected governor of the Mexican state of Michoacan had to leave a ceremony and wake held to honor Carlos Manzo, the murdered Mayor of Uruapan, who had become famous in Mexico for his hard stance against cartels. Amid insults, shoves, and shouts, Governor Alfredo Ramirez Bedolla had to make a quick exit after trying to attend the event. Hours later, hundreds of protesters vandalized the governor’s palace and even attempted to torch it during a protest over Manzo’s murder and the raging cartel violence that plagues Michoacan.

A group of cartel gunmen shot and killed one of the most outspoken politicians in Western Mexico. The Uruapan, Michoacán, mayor had taken a hard stance against drug cartels and had his city cops fight them at a time when state and federal politicians there had deep connections to criminal organizations.

Travelers in the border state of Tamaulipas are sounding the alarm about a police checkpoint that state investigators are allegedly setting up to collect extortion, and where at least three victims have been abducted and turned over to Gulf Cartel gunmen. The gunmen reportedly tortured the victims while demanding ransom.

Federal agents launched a high-impact gang takedown in Wisconsin this morning, arresting 22 suspects and seizing a cache of drugs, guns, and vehicles in a coordinated strike dubbed “Operation Chalkline.” Backed by 14 SWAT teams and dozens of law enforcement partners, the FBI Milwaukee-led operation targeted violent criminal networks operating in Milwaukee and Racine, Wisconsin.

Gunmen with the Cartel Del Noreste faction of Los Zetas wounded two Mexican police officers during an ambush-style attack. The attack is the third of its kind since Thursday, as police and military forces attempt to hold back the CDN-Los Zetas from setting up operations in Coahuila. The CDN-Los Zetas is one of six Mexican cartels designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the U.S. government.

The U.S. Consulate in Tijuana sounded the alarm about a terrorist cartel attack involving explosive devices that caused various blasts near the beach hotspot of Playas de Tijuana. Mexican authorities have remained silent and have not released any information on the attack, which targeted a state police building.

A shooting at a popular mall in Cancun spread panic amongst locals who were forced to run for cover amid the sounds of gunfire.

Six cartel gunmen died in a shootout near the beach tourist hotspot of Ensenada, Baja California. The shootout comes just days after two cartel banners addressed to FBI Director Kash Patel warned that Sinaloa Cartel gunmen would be targeting U.S. citizens.

Authorities in the Mexican border state of Tamaulipas confirmed that the vice-president of the state’s chamber of commerce has been reported missing in the city of Reynosa. The abduction comes a little over a year after the then president of the same chamber died at the hands of the Gulf Cartel in neighboring Matamoros after exposing the widespread extortion by the criminal organization with the help of city officials.

Cartel gunmen in Mexico put up two banners addressed to FBI Director Kash Patel and other officials from the U.S. and Mexico, threatening U.S. citizens living in the Cabo San Lucas and San Jose areas. The threats point to the U.S. getting involved in the cartel’s turf war in Sinaloa and Baja California.

A group of gunmen from the Gulf Cartel tried to kidnap three innocent women who had just flown into the Mexican border city of Reynosa on a work assignment. The Gulf Cartel has been increasing extortion and kidnapping operations in the region following the border buildup by U.S. authorities, which made it more difficult for the criminal organization to operate its traditional smuggling model. The Gulf Cartel is one of six Mexican criminal organizations designated as Foreign Terrorist Groups by the U.S. government.

Nearly 40 gunmen, including a U.S. citizen, are facing various charges in Mexico following a raid at a church training camp where they were allegedly preparing for the end of the world.

The kidnapping and murder of a Colombian musician at the hands of a Mexican cartel has sparked a political controversy between the two countries as pressure mounts to solve the case.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury singled out several key leaders and businesses tied to the Mayos faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, including a former mayor in the Mexican state of Baja California. The move targets accounts and money laundering operations, including hotels, restaurants, and bars in the popular beach destination of Rosarito, Baja California.

The Gulf Cartel continues to terrorize the Mexican border state of Tamaulipas despite the government’s claims of cracking down on drug cartels. The Gulf Cartel is labelled as a terrorist organization by the U.S. government.

A group of ten state cops in the Mexican border state of Chihuahua claims that more than 80 Sinaloa Cartel gunmen overpowered them and beat them for some time before releasing them. Government officials have tried to deny the incident; however, some information points to the attack having been prompted by the theft of a drug load.

The Gulf Cartel brought the city of Matamoros, Tamaulipas, to a standstill after they carried out a series of attacks targeting a local city official and her two children, who sustained various injuries. Mexican military forces did not respond to the clash to assist state authorities in fighting the Gulf Cartel. The Gulf Cartel is one of the six Mexican drug cartels labeled as terrorist organizations by the Trump administration.

A group of gunmen fired indiscriminately into a bar in central Mexico in a terror-style attack as part of an apparent fight between criminal organizations.

A squad of gunmen believed to be with the Gulf Cartel shot and killed a top Mexican federal prosecutor during a brazen attack in the border city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas. The attackers used grenades and automatic weapons. The gunmen managed to escape with complete impunity as Mexican government officials try to claim the region is safe and work to contain the public opinion fallout.

A group of gunmen left a bag with a human head and some extremities in the downtown area of Monterrey — one of Mexico’s largest metropolitan areas and the capital of the border state of Nuevo Leon. The gruesome killing comes as drug cartels carry out numerous kidnappings and murders throughout the state, as well as clashing with state police in rural areas.

President Trump paved the way for military action with his designation of Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. The designation led to the authorization of surveillance flights by the CIA over Mexico and the deployment of U.S. Navy guided missile destroyers off the Mexican coast.

The Gulf Cartel killed a Mexican activist just days after a judge removed his police protection that was previously granted after the same cartel had kidnapped him four times before and threatened to kill him. The Gulf Cartel is one of six Mexican organized crime groups designated by the Trump administration as foreign terrorist organizations.

Cartel gunmen used a dump truck to conceal an attack on state police forces by moving the vehicle at a high rate of speed straight into an armored police truck with five officers inside. The crash killed two officers and injured three others.

A U.S. Border Patrol agent who drowned last week while saving his children from a rip current while vacationing in South Padre Island had lost his father six months earlier to an explosion. Gulf Cartel gunmen had turned rural ranch roads in northern Mexico into minefields.

The Trump Administration announced that it will be implementing a 30 percent tariff on all commercial goods that move north of the border. President Donald Trump took the punitive action due to Mexico’s failure to do enough against drug cartels

The governor of Sinaloa claims that all is well in his state, while the ongoing turf war between rival factions of the Sinaloa Cartel has propelled his state to lead the nation in murders. That same politician is the one who had been singled out by political rivals as having had a close relation with Sinaloa Cartel leaders and having been caught in the middle as the two main factions went to war last year.

Sinaloa Cartel gunmen killed close to two dozen rivals, hanging four from a bridge, dismembering some, stuffing them in bags, and stacking the rest inside a van. The gory crime scenes sparked terror as two main factions, the Chapitos and Mayiza factions of the Sinaloa Cartel, continue to wage a fierce turf war that killed hundreds and rages on, for almost a year, despite the many assurances by Mexico’s government about cracking down on cartel violence. The Sinaloa Cartel is designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. Department of State.

The U.S. Consulate in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, issued an alert over a series of kidnappings along certain Mexican border highways. The warning follows the actions by teams of gunmen who abducted at least ten people in at least three separate cases in recent days. It remains unclear if other similar cases have not been reported.

Authorities in southern Mexico are investigating the murder of a mayor at the hands of a team of gunmen who stormed the municipal headquarters, shooting their intended target and another city official. The attack is the second murder of a mayor in the Mexican state of Oaxaca in 2025.

Mexican authorities confirmed the discovery of eight bodies belonging to a group of men who had been reported missing earlier this week. The discovery began when locals reported to authorities the discovery of a human ear in a rural area of Baja California.

Gunmen with the Gulf Cartel are believed to be responsible for a series of attacks just days after authorities arrested a regional leader from that criminal organization.

A group of cartel gunmen abducted, murdered, and incinerated a group of musicians in the border city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas. Desperate relatives held protests, vigils, and even blocked access to international ports of entry in an attempt to get government officials to act and not ignore the case, like the thousands of missing persons cases that have been taking place throughout the state of Tamaulipas in recent years.

Mexico’s government remains tight-lipped about an explosion that killed six Mexican Army soldiers in the western state of Michoacan.  The soldiers were riding in armored personnel carriers, and the explosion is believed to have been a landmine planted by one of the cartels fighting for control of the region.

Authorities in Mexico are looking into the abduction of a Tamaulipas State Police officer and nine members of his family in the border city of Nuevo Laredo. For reasons yet unknown, the gunmen released the officer and the family unharmed. It remains unclear if the abduction was done as a message to government officials or for other reasons.