1930s Matamoros: Guerra's beginnings of the Gulf Cartel

In the shadow of American Prohibition in the 1930s, smuggler Juan Nepomuceno Guerra sowed the seeds of a network that, over nearly a century, would grow into one of Mexico's most feared criminal organizations: the Gulf Cartel. From its base in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, this cartel expanded from smuggling whiskey across the Rio Grande to dominating the transcontinental drug trade. This transformation was marked by brutal violence, deep political corruption, and an uncanny ability to constantly adapt to new markets and methods. The story of the Gulf Cartel is a tale of a criminal legacy that has shaped the region in Mexico and impacted the United States through bloody feuds and countless lost lives.

El Padrino in the 1980s: From control to cocaine empire

Juan Nepomuceno Guerra, also known as El Padrino, founded his illegal empire in Matamoros by exploiting the high demand for alcohol in the United States during Prohibition. He understood early on the importance of local loyalty and, crucially, the silence of authorities, secured through widespread bribery. His network quickly expanded to include control over gambling, prostitution, and car theft. However, it was under Guerra's nephew, Juan García Ábrego, in the 1970s, that the organization truly entered the international drug scene. García Ábrego forged a strategic alliance with Colombian cocaine traffickers, cementing the Gulf Cartel as a key player on the cocaine route from South America to the US. By the 1980s, according to US intelligence, the cartel controlled the majority of cocaine crossing northeastern Mexico, generating annual revenues in the billions.

El Mata Amigos: Cárdenas Guillén and the Gulf Cartel's rise

After Juan García Ábrego's imprisonment in 1996, Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, a former mechanic notorious for his ruthlessness and known as El Mata Amigos (The Friend Killer), took over leadership of the Gulf Cartel, ushering in a new and even more brutal era. Perhaps Osiel's most fateful decision was the recruitment of 31 deserters from Mexico's elite military unit GAFE in 1999. These highly trained soldiers became the core of Los Zetas, the cartel's new paramilitary enforcer group. Los Zetas revolutionized the criminal underworld with military tactics and an unprecedented level of violence, including infamous beheadings and the use of advanced military equipment like grenade launchers. Under Osiel Cárdenas Guillén's leadership, the Gulf Cartel aggressively expanded, cementing its control over Mexican states such as Nuevo León, Veracruz, and Guerrero, all while waging bloody territorial wars against rival organizations like the Sinaloa Cartel.

The alliance and war between the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas

The powerful, yet fragile, alliance between the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas dramatically shattered in 2010. An internal conflict simmered between Samuel Flores Borrego, a high-ranking figure in the Gulf Cartel, and Los Zetas commanders. After Flores Borrego allegedly ordered the killing of a Zetas leader in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Los Zetas' notorious leader, Heriberto Lazcano, retaliated by demanding Flores Borrego's death. The Gulf Cartel's refusal triggered a brutal war between the two organizations, a conflict that sent shockwaves throughout Mexico and led to numerous shootouts. This war escalated further in September 2011 when Samuel Flores Borrego was found dead, possibly killed by his own men. This murder marked the beginning of an internal split within the Gulf Cartel itself, where factions like Los Metros and Los Rojos began a bitter and bloody power struggle. Over a decade, this internal violence has cost more than 2,000 lives in Tamaulipas alone, transforming cities like Matamoros and Reynosa into veritable war zones where civilians are often caught in the crossfire.

Fragmentation and the Gulf Cartel's decline post-Cárdenas

Following Osiel Cárdenas Guillén's extradition to the US in 2007 and the killing of his brother, Antonio Cárdenas Guillén (also known as Tony Tormenta), in 2010, the Gulf Cartel has lost much of its former centralized power. This once-mighty cartel is now highly fragmented, operating as a network of smaller, often rival, cells. Key factions include Los Metros, Los Ciclones, and Grupo Escorpiones, which constantly wage bloody battles both among themselves and against external enemies like the Cartel del Noreste. Leaders such as Mario Ramírez Treviño, alias El Gordo, who controlled activities in Nuevo Laredo until his arrest in 2013, have unsuccessfully attempted to reunite the cartel. However, internal violence and strife continue unabated. In 2024, Carlos Humberto Acuña de los Santos, known as El Mono and leader of the Los Metros faction, has become a central figure in the ongoing wave of violence in Reynosa. There, he has focused on forging alliances with local gangs and intensifying extortion of businesses to finance the fight against rivals, including Los Ciclones.

New paths: Earnings from trafficking and extortion

Although traditional drug trafficking remains a significant source of income, the modern Gulf Cartel has markedly diversified its criminal operations. The organization is now deeply involved in human trafficking, extensive illegal fishing, and even more sophisticated crimes like cyber fraud. A 2024 investigation revealed that the cartel uses speedboats to smuggle drugs and conduct illegal fishing in US waters, a business estimated to bring in $50 million annually on its own. The brutal extortion of local businesses through a forced "protection system" is a grim reality. A restaurant owner from Matamoros recounted how he is forced to pay $500 monthly to prevent his business from being burned down. Those who resist this extortion risk their lives; in 2023, 42 business owners were killed in Reynosa for refusing to pay, an example of the constant violence.

Matamoros kidnapping: Hostages, US sanctions, corruption

The Gulf Cartel's extreme violence made international headlines in March 2024, when four American citizens were brutally kidnapped in Matamoros. This occurred during an escalation of conflict, possibly involving elements related to Los Zetas or internal factional struggles. Two of the American hostages were later found dead, bearing clear signs of torture, which immediately triggered a strong response from US authorities. Consequently, the US imposed sanctions on five high-ranking cartel members, including Ismael Guerra Salinas, believed to manage operations from Playa Bagdad. This tragic incident also exposed the extensive corruption permeating the region. Leaked audio recordings revealed that local police chiefs had allegedly received over $1 million in bribes to grant Gulf Cartel members access to the city's surveillance cameras during the hostage crisis itself.

Cárdenas Guillén's return: Reunion or permanent threat?

With the recent release of notorious drug lord Osiel Cárdenas Guillén from a US prison in August 2024, and his prompt re-arrest in Mexico, the future of the Gulf Cartel is highly uncertain. Analysts speculate whether the former leader of this powerful cartel will attempt to reunite the splintered factions, or if the organization's fragmentation has become permanent. Regardless of the outcome, it is undeniable that the Gulf Cartel's legacy of violence and corruption has left deep and lasting scars on northeastern Mexico. In Matamoros' poorer neighborhoods, founder Juan Nepomuceno Guerra is, paradoxically, still hailed by some as a folk hero, while countless families continue to mourn loved ones lost in the decades-long conflict that has plagued the region. The cartel's remarkable ability to adapt—with reports of investments in cryptocurrency and the use of artificial intelligence to evade authorities' scrutiny—indicates that the Gulf Cartel remains a persistent and constantly evolving threat to both Mexico's national security and international efforts against organized crime.

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