Gulf Cartel
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| Founded | 1970's |
|---|---|
| In | Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico |
| Founded by | Juan Nepomuceno Guerra |
| Years active | 1970's-present |
| Territory | Mexico Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Veracruz, Michoacan, Chihuahua United States Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Illinois, Florida |
| Ethnicity | Mexican |
| Membership | Estimated to have well over 1,000 foot soldiers |
| Criminal activities | Cocaine, marijuana and heroin trafficking and wholesaling, drug trafficking, people smuggling, money laundering, extortion, kidnapping, murder and arms trafficking |
| Allies | Los Zetas and Beltrán-Leyva Cartel |
| Rivals | Sinaloa Cartel and Juarez Cartel |
The Gulf Cartel (Spanish: Cártel del Golfo) is a Mexican drug trafficking cartel based in Matamoros, Tamaulipas. The cartel is present in 13 states with important areas of operation in the cities of Nuevo Laredo, Miguel Alemán, Reynosa and Matamoros in the northern state of Tamaulipas; it also has important operations in the states of Nuevo León and in Michoacán.[1] The Gulf Cartel traffics cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamine and heroin across the U.S.-Mexico border to major cities in the United States. The group is known for its violent methods and intimidation, and works closely with corrupt law officials and business people in Mexico as well as Mexican illegal aliens in the United States.
Aside from earning money from the sales of narcotics, the cartel also extorts "taxes" from local businesses in exchange of "protection". Anyone passing narcotics or aliens through Gulf Cartel territory is subject to payment of these "taxes" to the cartel. The Gulf cartel does not limit itself solely to narcotics trafficking, as they are known to kidnap people for ransom money.
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[edit] History
The Gulf Cartel was founded by Juan Nepomuceno Guerra back in the 1970s. Nepomuceno Guerra was a notorious Mexican bootlegger who smuggled whiskey into the United States in the 1930s along the Gulf of Mexico.[2] In the 1970s, he became politically active and began smuggling more contraband into the United States, including marijuana and heroin produced in Mexico. His nephew, Juan García Abrego, was born in a ranch called "La Puerta" in Matamoros, Tamaulipas. He began slowly taking over day-to-day operations of what was now being called the Gulf Cartel. García Abrego expanded the business to include the more lucrative cocaine trade throughout the 1980s and 1990s, all with the assistance of the political connections that his uncle had fostered. Juan García Abrego became so powerful that he was placed on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives in 1995. He was the first drug trafficker to ever be placed on that list.[2] García Abrego was captured in 1996 and extradited to the United States.[3] According to Janet Reno, the US Attorney General at the time, Mexican and U.S. officials agreed on the fact that he was an American citizen, born in La Paloma, Texas — although a birth record in the Matamoros Registrar's Office also exists.[citation needed] He is currently serving eleven life terms in a maximum security federal prison in Colorado, U.S.
Following Abrego's 1996 arrest by Mexican authorities and subsequent deportation to the United States, he was replaced by Oscar Malherbe De León, until his arrest a short time later,[2] causing several cartel lieutenants to fight for the leadership. The next in line was Salvador "El Chava" Gómez, however, his leadership was short lived when a lieutenant and friend, Osiel Cárdenas Guillen, assassinated him in 1996. After the coup, Cárdenas became the undisputed leader of the Gulf Cartel.
In 1999, Cárdenas learned that a Gulf Cartel informant was being transported through Matamoros, Tamaulipas, by the FBI and DEA. Cárdenas and his men surrounded the vehicle on a public street and demanded the informant be released to him. The FBI and DEA agents refused to turn over their informant, but and after a tense standoff they were released. As for Cárdenas, the damage had been done by taking on the U.S. government. The United States placed enormous pressure on the Mexican government to apprehend Cárdenas. Cárdenas was arrested during a gun battle in Matamoros in March 2003.[citation needed] Cárdenas was sent to the Penal del Altiplano (formerly known as "La Palma"), the federal high security prison in Almoloya de Juárez, Estado de México. It is suspected that Cárdenas still ran the Gulf Cartel from his prison cell.[citation needed]
Since the arrest of Cárdenas Guillen, his two partners -Antonio Ezequiel Cardenas Guillen and Jorge Costilla Sanchez- took control of the cartel,[4] with the militant wing —Los Zetas— stepping up; it appears the two groups continue to work together, but that Los Zetas no longer take orders from Gulf Cartel.[4][5][6][7][8] and forged an alliance with the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel.
While in prison, the head of the Tijuana Cartel, Arellano Félix and Gulf Cartel leader Osiel Cárdenas Guillen, forged an alliance against the Sinaloa Cartel and its ally the Juarez Cartel. Since the extradition of Cárdenas Guillen to the U.S., Los Zetas have gradually taken control of the Gulf cartel and have made an alliance with the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel.[9][10]
On September 17, 2008, United States Attorney General Michael Mukasey announced that 175 alleged Gulf cartel members were arrested in a crackdown on the cartel in the U.S. and in Italy. [1]
[edit] Alliance of Los Zetas and the Beltrán Leyva Cartel
Sensing a void in the Gulf Cartel after Osiel Cárdenas' arrest, the Sinaloa Cartel, headed by Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, began to move into Gulf Cartel territory. This prompted Cárdenas to employ a group of former Mexican military gunmen known as Los Zetas to keep Guzmán from entering Gulf Cartel territory. Los Zetas' military expertise allowed the Gulf Cartel to increase the efficiency and violence of its operations. The Beltrán Leyva brothers, who were formerly aligned with the Sinaloa Cartel, forged an alliance with Los Zetas of the Gulf Cartel in 2008.[11][12]
[edit] Alliance with the Tijuana Cartel
In 2003, the Gulf Cartel joined in an alliance with the remnants of the Arellano Félix Organization, also known as the Tijuana Cartel, based out of the state of Baja California.[13] This was based primarily on prison negotiations between top leaders such as Benjamín Arellano Félix and Osiel Cárdenas. After a personal dispute between leaders, however, Osiel Cárdenas ordered Benjamín Arellano Félix beaten, and all alliances ceased at that point. It is reported that after the fallout, Cárdenas ordered the Zetas to Baja California to wipe out the Tijuana Cartel.[14]
[edit] Structure
Since the January 20, 2007 extradition of Osiel Cárdenas Guillen to the U.S., the Gulf Cartel's leadership has since evolved into one with a decentralized structure, with two major lieutenants sharing control of the cartel:[15] Heriberto Lazcano (a.k.a: El Lazca and Zeta 3), is the lieutenant of the cartel's paramilitary wing Los Zetas,[16] Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sánchez (a.k.a: El Coss) who maintains close contacts with Colombian narcotics suppliers, and Antonio Ezequiel Cárdenas Guillen, brother of Osiel.[17]
The decentralized structure of the cartel differentiates it from other cartels, in that power is shared equally among a set of gatekeepers (plaza heads), each of whom is responsible for running different trafficking routes [15]. Each gatekeeper is also responsible for security and the collection of 'taxes' for each plaza they are responsible for.
[edit] Indictments
On July 21, 2009, the United States DEA announced coordinated actions against the Gulf Cartel/Los Zetas drug trafficking organization. Antonio Ezequiel Cárdenas Guillen, Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sánchez, Heriberto Lazcano-Lazcano and 15 of their top lieutenants, have been charged in U.S. federal courts with drug trafficking-related crimes,[17][18] while the U.S. State Department announced rewards totaling $50 million USD for information leading to their capture.[17]
One high-level Zetas founder, Miguel Treviño Morales, who is the gatekeeper for the Nuevo Laredo drug trafficking corridor, was charged with continuing criminal enterprise, which carries a life sentence on conviction.
[edit] See also
- Beltrán-Leyva Cartel
- Vicente Carrillo Fuentes
- La Familia Michoacana (drug cartel)
- Joaquín Guzmán
- Juárez Cartel
- Mérida Initiative
- Narcotrafficking in Colombia
- Los Negros
- Operation Solare
- Tijuana Cartel
- War on Drugs
- Los Zetas
[edit] References
- ^ "Mexico's Drug Cartels", CRs Report for Congress, Congresional Research Service, October 16, 2007, http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL34215.pdf, retrieved 2009-08-18
- ^ a b c DEA Fugitive: Cardenas Guillen 2009-08-18
- ^ The Gulf Cartel, PBS (1997)
- ^ a b "Mexican Drug Cartels: Government Progress and Growing Violence". STRATFOR Global Intelligence. December 11, 2008. http://www.stratfor.com/analysis/20081209_mexican_drug_cartels_government_progress_and_growing_violence. Retrieved 2009-08-25.
- ^ Oscar Becerra, "New Traffickers Struggle for Control of Mexican Drug Trade," Jane's Intelligence Review, September 1, 2004.
- ^ Bunker, Robert (July 2005). Networks, Terrorism and Global Insurgency. Routledge. p. xv. ISBN 0-41534819-6.
- ^ Weak bilateral law enforcement presence at the U.S.Mexico border. Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security. November 2005.
- ^ Texas Monthly On . . .: Texas True Crime. University of Texas Press. April 2007. p. 44. ISBN 0-29271675-3.
- ^ Gómez, Francisco (Agosto 17 de 2008). "Los ‘Zetas’ por dentro; los entrenan en Coahuila" (in Spanish). Vanguardia. http://www.vanguardia.com.mx/diario/noticia/seguridad/nacional/los_zetas_por_dentro;_los_entrenan_en_coahuila/209970. Retrieved 2008-08-18.
- ^ Corchado, Alfredo (June 11, 2007). "Cartel's enforcers outpower their boss". The Dallas Morning News. http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/world/stories/061107dnintzetas.3a36238.html. Retrieved 2009-04-23.
- ^ Revela laptop operaciones de los Beltrán Leyva (in Spanish).
- ^ Sinaloa, en jaque por la violencia tras ser asesinado hijo del Chapo (in Spanish).
- ^ Mexico's Drug Cartels, Colleen W. Cook, Congressional Research Service Report for Congress, October 2007
- ^ Mexico, the New Kingpins Rise, Stratfor, February 22, 2005
- ^ a b Janes's Intelligence, Gulf War: Pressure Mounts on Mexico's Gulf Cartel, December, 2007
- ^ Gómez, Francisco (December 31, 2008). "Los Zetas por dentro" (in Spanish). El Universal. http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/nacion/164819.html. Retrieved 2009-03-29.
- ^ a b c "U.S. launches drive against Mexican drug cartel". Reuters. July 20, 2009. http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN2091449. Retrieved 2009-08-18.
- ^ DEA News Release
[edit] External links
- PBS Frontline: The Gulf Cartel, PBS (1997)
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