“HEARST” and “Sol Prendido” for Borderland Beat
The vests on a Gulf Cartel kidnapping squad that was caught roaming outside Matamoros revealed that the hitmen worked under Ezequiel Cárdenas, the son of Tony Tormenta and nephew of Osiel.
The Kidnapping
Yesterday, on March 27, the website Valor por Tamaulipas published a message and a series of accompanying images to their Telegram channel.
The message claims to be from a state police officer who chose to publicize an incident where a number of cartel kidnappers were stopped by authorities and a kidnapping victim was freed.
The message claims the incident occurred outside of “the border city”. The comments in Telegram allege they meant the city of Matamoros.
The message claims the incident took place on March 23, 2023.
The images show a Gulf Cartel hitman lying on the ground, still wearing a vest and bloody in the face. It’s unclear if the hitman is deceased or merely injured.
The images show a man with a bandage around his head who is handcuffed to a handle on the interior of a vehicle. The message indicates that the man is a kidnapping victim.
Firearms, ammo, helmets, and vests were seized from the hitmen.
The message claims that officials have not officially released information on what happened.
Authorities may be hesitant to acknowledge the incident due to the recent Gulf Cartel attack on Americans, which lead to the death of two and the kidnapping of the others, in Matamoros.
Many have speculated that the Mexican and Tamaulipan governments are being pressured by the US for more answers and further arrests related to the attack. This comes as reports emerge that spring break tourism into Mexico reportedly dropped.
Due to these circumstances, the state government may be hesitant to acknowledge a cartel kidnapping group was roaming just outside the city, with a victim in tow.
So, the vests name Ezequiel Cárdenas as the presumed leader of this kidnapping group. But, who exactly is that and is he related to the famous Cárdenas Guillen crime family which helms the Gulf Cartel?
Ezequiel Cárdenas Rivera is believed to be one of the sons of famous Gulf Cartel figure Antonio Ezequiel Cárdenas Guillén, alias “Tony Tormenta.” This makes Ezequiel the nephew of Osiel Cardenas, Metro 1, and other famous Cárdenas brothers.
An Informador article from 2010 mentions the alleged names of Tony Tormenta’s wife: Hermelinda Rivera Alcántara, along with the name of his daughter: Karla Elizabeth Cárdenas Rivera, and the name of his other son: Jorge Cárdenas Rivera.
Tony Tormenta was killed by federal forces in November 2010.
Just one year after his death, on November 25, 2011, his 23-year-old son Ezequiel was arrested in Matamoros, as he attempted to leave a party alongside other Gulf Cartel figures. A neighbor had apparently complained about the party’s noise and Navy Marines were called in.
The Marines snagged Ezequiel as he and four other men attempted to speed out of the neighborhood on Álvaro Obregón Street inside three vehicles.
The men were found to be in possession of several firearms which were illegal for them to possess.
The other men arrested with him were:
José de Jesús García Hernández, alias “El Chuy”
32 years old
The alleged head of the Matamoros plaza
René Alberto Munguía Elizondo, alias “El Amable”
43 years old
Financial operator who worked under the direct orders of El Chuy as an accountant
Javier Enrique Farías García, alias “El Contador”
49 years old
Financial operator
Erasmo García Galván, alias “El Checo”
37 years old
Likely involved in drug smuggling to the US
For the next few years, very little news about Ezequiel was published. Then, in 2016, a social media post appeared which showed a photo of Ezequiel as he sat alongside his fiancé (at the time). He would have been 28 at the time of the posting.
The post gave out Ezequiel’s full name and his relation to Tony Tormenta. It then alleged that Ezequiel was currently leading a Gulf Cartel group in Matamoros which extorted local businesses and kidnapped for ransom.
The post also alleged that Ezequiel would sometimes hide out in Monterrey. His cousin, the son of Augustin Cardenas, El Contador was the overall leader of the Matamoros faction at the time, he reportedly did not know about Ezequiel’s extortion activity in Matamoros.
It’s interesting to note that the kidnappers’ helmets, seized on March 23, had a patch which read “chubascos”, which means a heavy rainfall. This may be a bit of wordplay with the alias of Ezequiel’s father, with “Tormenta” meaning storm.