A Mexican politician from the country’s ruling party is believed to have used her influence to pressure the Mexican military to release her son-in-law. The man was the target of a raid focused on a terrorist cartel extortion operation in the border city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas.
The incident took place this weekend, when Mexican military forces arrested Gregorio Sauceda del Toro in connection with an operation targeting the Gulf Cartel’s extortion operations in Reynosa. The 35-year-old Sauceda is the son of the late Gregorio “Caramuela”, “Goyo” or “Metro2” Sauceda Gamboa, a top leader in the Gulf Cartel who was arrested in Matamoros in 2009 and is presumed dead.
Breitbart News Foundation / Cartel Chronicles
As Breitbart Texas reported, in recent months and due to the slowdown of drug and migrant operations into Texas, the Gulf Cartel increased its extortion and kidnapping operations in cities like Matamoros, Reynosa, and Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas. As part of their operations, the Gulf Cartel threatens local businesses into only getting their supplies from cartel-approved vendors, as well as forcing them to pay a regular protection fee. The businessmen also have to sell a set number of cartel-bought items. This new tactic has moved the terrorist organization from drugs and migrants into controlling the sale of flowers, charcoal, meats, and other regular products.
Shortly after Sauceda Del Toro’s arrest, Mexican Congresswoman Eva Reyes reportedly used her political weight to get the military to release her son-in-law. The release is searchable in Mexico’s public security database, which tracks all federal-level arrests. In that document, Sauceda Del Toro appears as having been arrested by Mexico’s Army on Friday at 6:50 p.m. in the Jacinto Lopez neighborhood. The document also shows him as “released”.
Credit: Registro Nacional Detenciones
The issue comes at a time when the U.S. government has been increasing its pressure on Mexico to not only go after terrorist cartels, but also the politicians who protect them. In 2025, the Trump administration designated the Gulf Cartel as a foreign terrorist organization.
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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