“HEARST” for Borderland Beat
Gulf Cartel – Metros hitmen recently got into a gun battle with state police officers in the border region of Miguel Aleman, Tamaulipas.
Police may have been attempting to arrest Metros leadership figures when they chased after them, causing one of their vehicles to flip over.
Warning: Some graphic content below this point.
What Happened
On December 9, 2023, a group of State Police officers entered into a gun battle with cartel hitmen in the town of Miguel Aleman, in the state of Tamaulipas.
This town lies right near the US-Mexico border in territory that has been fought over by cartel groups for decades.
Los Bloqueados de Miguel Alemán writes that the police convoy was driving up Miguel Aleman Boulevard when hitmen from Cártel del Golfo – Metros faction ambushed them, with the hitmen shooting first.
Other sources, such as the cartel news Twitter account El Guzman, allege the officers were attempting to capture and arrest the local leaders of los Metros, which led to a shootout with the leaders’ bodyguards.
According to El Guzman, the police were looking for the local leaders of the Metros, including:
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José Guadalupe “N”, alias “La Paleta” or, in English, the lollipop
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Ricky Segura, alias “R 57”
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Álvaro Noé Morfín Morfín, alias “R8”
Regardless of how the fight started, the battle led to a car chase in which members of los Metros tried to flee while being pursued by State Police.
One of the Metros vehicles, a Dodge Durango SR5 SUV, ended up flipping over on its side and the hitmen the vehicle tried to shoot their way out, firing at officers. In the end, “El Grande”, a Metros hitman, was killed and another hitman, known as “La Changa”, was injured but managed to flee.
According to Valor por Tamaulipeco, La Changa reportedly fled deeper into Metros territory and he is currently hiding out in Reynosa.
The seized Metros vehicle has a group logo emblazoned on the side. A photo of the logo is shown below.
So, what do we know about these Metros figures that police were possibly trying to capture?
Well, Ricky Segura, who is referred to as “Metro 57” or “Delta 57” or “R 57” (or even “R 53”), is the current plaza boss of Miguel Aleman. He controls the trafficking in Miguel Aleman and presumably manages the plaza’s cartel operations.
Metro 57 took over the position after the April 2023 arrest of the previous plaza boss, Hugo Armando Salinas Cortinas, code “Metro 7”, alias “La Cabra” or, in English, the goat.
Álvaro Noé Morfín Morfín, alias “R8”, is R57’s boss. R8 is the brother of the overall leader of Metros – a man named Cesar Morfin Morfin, alias “El Primito”.
Now, El Primito is believed to live in Jalisco, which is many states away from the territories where Metros actually operate, namely Tamaulipas and Nuevo Leon. Because Primito is commanding his forces from so far away, he needs an on-the-ground emissary to communicate his orders to his men. This is where R8 comes in.
R8 actually lives and operates in areas where Metros are operating and by nature of them being brothers, Primito seems to trust R8 to faithfully act as his proxy. R8 has grown to be Primito’s right-hand-man and he’s widely considered to be the second-in-command of los Metros.
Lastly, we have José Guadalupe “N”, alias “La Paleta”, who is the lowest ranking of those listed and very little information is available on him.
What little we know comes primarily from a narco message his hitmen left a few months ago. The bulk of the message is the usual claims about “not hurting innocents” and accusations that the local government is protecting the rival cartel group.
He signs the message with “Paleta de Metal”, which means either metal lollipop or metal palette (like an artist’s paint palette).
Some online speculate that Paleta’s group of hitmen call themselves “Operativa Metal”.
At the end of the narco message, Paleta goes on to refer to himself as “under the orders of Commander R-8, R-57”, so he is evidently a subordinate of R-8 and R57.
Analyzing the Logo on the Vehicle
The artwork for the logo seen on the vehicle is not original, nor custom made for the group.
The logo was originally created by Maroyen Design, an Indonesian graphic designer. He posted his logo on the website Freepik.com as an EPS vector file. The logo can be downloaded by anyone online who chooses to pay for Freepik premium.
Other people, such as a “crypto-specialist”, have also bought the design and created their own version of the logo.
The logo design was titled “Baphomet Goat Head Logo” by the artist, which confirms the image shows a goat, for the Metros figure La Cabra, and not a bull, for the Metros’ Operativa Toro.
And, in regards to the symbolism of the goat being Baphomet and the pentagram drawn on his forehead, it all seems pretty standard fare, as far as cartel mascots go.
If you were to stick a bunch of young hitmen (all of whom come from a deeply Catholic culture) in a room and ask them to come up with the most intimidating symbol they can think of, some form of the devil or devil-adjacent figures is going to be their answer.
And, case in point, Cártel del Noreste groups have various mascots that are some variation of the devil or a demon, as seen below.
