Miguel "El Gringo" Villarreal

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Miguel Villarreal
Born
United States
Died10 March 2013 (Not confirmed)
Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico
Other namesEl Gringo
Gringo Mike
El Gringo Villarreal
Comandante Gringo
(Commander Gringo)
OccupationGulf Cartel leader
Opponents

Miguel Villarreal (died 10 March 2013) was a U.S.-born Mexican suspected drug lord and high-ranking leader of the Gulf Cartel, a criminal group based in Tamaulipas. He was the crime boss of Reynosa, Tamaulipas. Nicknamed El Gringo in reference to his U.S. nationality, Villarreal was identified by authorities as a Gulf Cartel leader in 2010, when he allegedly commanded cells that fought Los Zetas drug cartel in northeastern Mexico. By 2011, he served as the regional kingpin in Miguel Alemán, Tamaulipas and ordered several kidnappings and killings in the South Texas border area from Mexico.

During 2011 and 2012 Mexican media outlets reported on two occasions that Villarreal had been killed in an armed confrontation with either rival drug traffickers and Mexican law enforcement officers. By that point, rival factions within the Gulf Cartel were fighting each other for control of Tamaulipas and the cartel. Although not officially confirmed, Stratfor intelligence agency reported that Villarreal was killed in a three-hour gunfight that left at least three dozen dead in Reynosa, Tamaulipas on 10 March 2013. The shootout was caused by an attempt by Mario Ramírez Treviño, another high-ranking drug lord of the Gulf Cartel, to remove his rivals and become the undisputed leader of the cartel.

Criminal career[edit]

Miguel Villarreal acquired his nickname El Gringo by being a U.S. citizen.[1][A 1]

He was identified as a high-ranking leader of the Gulf Cartel by the Procuraduría General de la República (PGR) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in July 2010.[5] According to the government report, Villarreal operated as the second-in-command in the Gulf Cartel. He led armed confrontations against Los Zetas, the cartel's rival group in Tamaulipas, Nuevo León, and its neighboring states in northern Mexico.[5]

Los Zetas were a group of soldiers who defected in the late 1990s to work as assassins, bodyguards and drug runners for the Gulf Cartel, then led by Osiel Cárdenas Guillén. They split off from the Cartel in early 2010 following Cárdenas Guillén's arrest and extradition and attempts by Cartel leadership to limit their activities.[6][7]

By early 2011, Villarreal was the regional boss of the Gulf Cartel in the border city of Miguel Alemán, Tamaulipas, just across the international border from Roma, Texas.[8] Reportedly, Villarreal had ordered his henchman in South Texas to carry out several kidnappings in the Rio Grande Valley and take their victims to Mexico after a cocaine shipment was stolen in 2011. He was also accused of ordering several murders in the Texas-Mexico border area. The modus operandi of Villarreal on U.S. soil was similar to that of the imprisoned Zetas drug lord Jaime González Durán (El Hummer), who conducted kidnappings of rival cartel members in South Texas in 2008.[3][7][8] Also in 2011, an internal power struggle within the Gulf Cartel broke loose when the drug lord Samuel Flores Borrego was killed by his own men.[9] Villarreal later became a key player in the cartel's internal strife in the first quarter of 2013.[10]

Although none of the allegations have been confirmed, Villarreal had been reported dead several times by media outlets and civilians. In October 2011, he was reported dead by a Texan media outlet in Valle Hermoso, Tamaulipas following the Gulf Cartel's internal power struggle that broke out in September 2011.[8][11] A Mexican media outlet claimed that Villarreal was killed during a shootout between drug traffickers and the Mexican Armed Forces in Reynosa, Tamaulipas on 14 August 2012. According to official reports by the Mexican Army, four alleged drug traffickers were killed, but they did not comment on nor confirm any of the rumors surrounding Villarreal's death. They did state, however, that he was working as the Gulf Cartel's jefe de plaza (crime boss) in Reynosa.[4]

Villarreal was allegedly responsible for planting several car bombs in Nuevo Laredo, Ciudad Victoria, and Monterrey in 2012.[1][12] He was also behind a car theft operation in Reynosa on 9 March 2013, when gunmen working for him stole 18 vehicles from 6 car dealerships.[7][13]

Gulf Cartel infighting[edit]

Battle with Mario Pelón Ramírez[edit]

On the night of 10 March 2013, rival factions within the Gulf Cartel clashed when gunmen loyal to Villareal and henchmen of Mario Pelón Ramírez, another high-ranking Gulf Cartel leader, battled in a three-hour gunfight in Reynosa, paralyzing the avenues and streets of the city while the Mexican Armed Forces missed most of the fighting.[7][14] When the melee ended, the Mexican government confirmed two civilian deaths, but unofficial reports suggested that about 40 Gulf Cartel gunmen were killed; the number may be higher because the cartel members reportedly carried away the corpses of their fallen comrades in their vehicles.[15][A 2]

In the shootout, unofficial reports claimed that Villarreal's ally, Jesús García Román (El Puma), was killed. Other reports stated that high-ranking Gulf Cartel leader Sergio Ortegón Silva (Comandante Cortez), who led the faction known as Los Ceros (The Zeros), confronted Villarreal and his forces.[7][A 3]

Ramírez Treviño and Villarreal vied for the control of the drug trade operations in Reynosa, but the former had taken the overall command of the Gulf Cartel and committed himself to kill anyone that he considered his enemy, which included Villarreal.[10][22] Ramírez Treviño ordered his men to "erase everything and [kill] everyone that had ties with El Gringo", thereby creating a single structure among the cartel's commanders.[7] Ramírez Treviño was planning, with the help of the Sinaloa Cartel, to oust Villarreal for failing to stay low-profile in Reynosa, and because he considered Villarreal a "bloodthirsty" leader. In addition, Ramírez Treviño distrusted him because Villarreal had ties with Ramírez Treviño's rival Juan Mejía González (El R1).[7] Stratfor global intelligence agency indicated that the infighting between both men might have occurred after Villarreal allegedly betrayed the Gulf Cartel and started working with Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano (El Lazca), the former leader of the rival Los Zetas cartel.[23] Intelligence reports indicated that Ramírez Treviño ordered his men to kill more than 60 people associated with Villarreal in Miguel Alemán and Camargo, Tamaulipas throughout March 2013 to reunify the Gulf Cartel under his power.[24]

After several prolonged battles for the control of Reynosa, Ramírez Treviño became the top leader of the Gulf Cartel in 2013,[25] a position he had been vying since the drug lords Costilla Sánchez and Cárdenas Guillén were arrested in late 2012.[24][26] Although the information was not officially confirmed, Stratfor intelligence agency had suggested that Villarreal and several of his top associates were killed in the infighting on 10 March 2013.[23][27]

See also[edit]

Sources[edit]

Footnotes[edit]

  1. ^ He is also known by his aliases Gringo Mike,[2] El Gringo Villarreal,[3] and Comandante Gringo ('Commander Gringo').[4]
  2. ^ According to the authorities of Tamaulipas, only two bystanders were killed that day, a taxi driver and a boy.[16] The Monitor newspaper reported at least three dozen bodies (36 people),[15] while other outlets talked of over 50.[17][18] One anonymous officier in Reynosa indicated that investigators managed to recover only two bodies. He believes that if there were more casualties, "... their bodies had been removed by the time he arrived."[19]
  3. ^ Los Ceros is a group within the Gulf Cartel that allegedly served as the private army of Samuel Flores Borrego, a deceased drug trafficker.[20][21]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Riva Palacios, Raymundo (15 March 2013). "Batalla en Tamaulipas". TabascoHOY (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 23 March 2013. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
  2. ^ Chapa, Sergio (20 March 2013). "Man arrested in Valley for role in "Gringo Mike" cocaine deal". KGBT-TV. Barrington Broadcasting. Archived from the original on 12 April 2013. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
  3. ^ a b "Narcoviolencia en Reynosa por guerra entre facciones del Cártel del Golfo: The Monitor". Proceso (in Spanish). 18 March 2013. Archived from the original on 24 March 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
  4. ^ a b "Balaceras y narcobloqueos en Reynosa; reporta Sedena cuatro muertos". Proceso (in Spanish). 14 August 2012. Archived from the original on 20 August 2012. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  5. ^ a b Mosso, Rubén (8 July 2010). "Identifican al segundo jefe del cártel del Golfo". Milenio (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 22 March 2013. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  6. ^ Stone, Hannah (13 September 2012). "Capture of Gulf Boss Leaves Zetas Split in Spotlight". InSight Crime. Archived from the original on 15 September 2012. Retrieved 13 September 2012.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Ortiz, Ildefonso (18 March 2013). "Gulf Cartel infighting reignites with Reynosa firefights". The Monitor (Texas). Archived from the original on 27 February 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  8. ^ a b c Taylor, Jared (23 January 2012). "Gulf Cartel launched kidnapping ring in Rio Grande Valley last year". The Monitor. Archived from the original on 15 August 2012. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  9. ^ "Internal struggle in the Gulf Cartel could weaken the organization". The Monitor. 29 October 2011. Archived from the original on 16 August 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  10. ^ a b Reed, Tristan (18 April 2013). "Mexico's Drug War: Balkanization Leads to Regional Challenges". Stratfor. Archived from the original on 25 April 2013. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  11. ^ "Drug War Exiles: Amid Gulf Cartel infighting, leaders taken in by U.S. authorities". The Monitor. 8 November 2011. Archived from the original on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
  12. ^ "Narcomantas señalan a responsables de coche bomba". Zócalo Saltillo (in Spanish). 11 July 2012. Archived from the original on 14 July 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
  13. ^ Armendariz, Jacqueline (9 March 2013). "Cars stolen from 6 dealerships in Reynosa". The Monitor (Texas). Archived from the original on 22 March 2013. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  14. ^ Ortiz, Ildefonso (11 March 2013). "Reynosa shootout: Dozens dead, trucks filled with bodies". Valley Morning Star. Archived from the original on 12 March 2013. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
  15. ^ a b Ortiz, Ildefonso (11 March 2013). "Four trucks filled with bodies after Reynosa firefight". The Monitor (Texas). Archived from the original on 20 November 2016. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
  16. ^ González Antonio, Héctor (11 March 2013). "Mueren dos civiles inocentes tras larga jornada de balaceras en Reynosa". Excélsior (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 March 2013.
  17. ^ Sherman, Christopher (26 March 2013). "Drug war death tolls a guess without bodies". Yahoo! News. The Associated Press. Archived from the original on 9 April 2013. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
  18. ^ Gil Olmos, José (21 March 2013). "La ley del silencio". El Diario de Coahuila (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 23 March 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
  19. ^ Nelson, Aaron M. (1 April 2013). "Cartel violence continues unabated across the border". San Antonio Express-News. Archived from the original on 9 April 2013. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
  20. ^ Otero, Silvia (19 December 2009). "Hallan uniformes de grupo armado del Cártel del Golfo". El Universal (Mexico City) (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2 March 2010. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  21. ^ "DEA Fugitive: FLORES-BORREGO, SAMUEL". Drug Enforcement Administration. Archived from the original on 10 May 2012. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  22. ^ "A Mexico Border Shootout Reveals Effort to Cover Up Violence". InSight Crime. 18 March 2013. Archived from the original on 23 March 2013. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  23. ^ a b Carreño Figueras, José (5 April 2013). "Prevén reunificación en el cártel del Golfo". Excélsior (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  24. ^ a b "Disputa por el CDG habría dejado más de 60 muertos en Tamaulipas: Stratfor". Proceso (in Spanish). 5 April 2013. Archived from the original on 6 April 2013. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  25. ^ Villegas, Rodrigo (5 April 2013). "El crimen organizado y la reestructuración". Reporte Indigo (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 23 August 2013. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  26. ^ Stone, Hannah (17 September 2012). "Bloodshed in Northeast Mexico Points to Cartel Turmoil". InSight Crime. Archived from the original on 30 September 2012. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  27. ^ (subscription required) "Mexico Security Memo: Implications of a Gulf Cartel Consolidation". Stratfor. 3 April 2013. Archived from the original on 9 April 2013. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
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