Authorities in Mexico arrested a suspected member of the Gulf Cartel who had 151 drone explosives, 18 drones, three IEDs, and various other weapons. The seizure also included state-of-the-art anti-drone weapons.
The arrest took place in the border city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas, a region that continues to see high levels of violence as the Gulf Cartel continues to use terrorist tactics even against innocent victims in its areas of operation. The Gulf Cartel is one of six Mexican drug cartels that have been labelled as foreign terrorist organizations by the U.S. government.
Credit: Tamaulipas State Police
Authorities raided a house in an undisclosed neighborhood in Reynosa, where they arrested a Gulf Cartel gunman who was guarding the explosives arsenal. A list of the seized items revealed that the gunman had 151 pieces of plastic explosives that had been packed to be dropped by drones. Authorities also found 18 drones, three improvised explosive devices, and three state-of-the-art anti-drone devices. The gunman also had a rifle, a handgun, and a stolen sedan.
Credit: Tamaulipas State Police
The seizure of the arsenal comes at a time when the Metros faction of the Gulf Cartel has been waging a turf war with the rival faction, Escorpiones, based out of neighboring Matamoros, for control of lucrative smuggling territories. As part of their fighting strategies, both sides have been using drones to drop explosives on armored vehicles used by their rivals.
Credit: Tamaulipas State Police
The Metros cartel is directly responsible for thousands of forced disappearances and murders, which spread terror within Reynosa in recent years. Since the start of the year, the Metros have increased their kidnapping and extortion operations in Reynosa as a way to increase their revenue in response to the immigration policy changes and border enforcement actions started by the Trump administration. The shift in immigration policy, which closed the asylum loophole, had a dramatic effect on the Gulf Cartel, which at one point was earning more money from the smuggling of migrants and asylum seekers than from drug trafficking. The increased border enforcement has also made it more difficult for the criminal organization to move drugs through the Rio Grande, forcing the organization to rely primarily on moving drugs through the ports of entry.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart News Foundation. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s 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 News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.
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