“Sol Prendido” for Borderland Beat
The covert operation “Centinela Noreste” carried out by the Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA) and the State Guard of Tamaulipas, managed to dismantle a structure of the Gulf Cartel (known as Los Ciclones and its armed wing Los Escorpiones) in four cities of the state, which would have supported the current governor of Tamaulipas, Américo Villarreal, during the elections. The operation also involved the collaboration of other cartels interested in taking over the state.
Last Sunday, Tamaulipas authorities arrested Axel Alfredo and Alan Alexis Cardenas Rodriguez, sons of Accountant Alfredo Cardenas, who were linked as leaders of the “Ciclones” after failing to find a way to negotiate, following a raid in which they seized a mansion in the private Victoria complex in Matamoros, Tamaulipas.
This Tuesday, SEDENA arrested the leaders of the Zetas Vieja Escuela allied to the Gulf Cartel in Soto La Marina and San Fernando.
However, the capture of the executors and operational leaders who could retaliate is still pending.
SEDENA intelligence has received information that the criminal groups are regrouping and planning to retaliate, this Thursday they murdered a prison guard in the capital of Tamaulipas and sent threats to the Deputy Secretary of the prisons. It has also been pointed out that the son of Governor Villarreal, Américo Villarreal Santiago, has been linked to some personalities related to the Ciclones and to the financing of the Morena campaign in the border. For this reason, he has redoubled his security for the political events of his Avanzada Tamaulipeca group, which also received financing from criminal groups.
This situation exposes the relationship between organized crime and politics in Tamaulipas, and uncovers a series of complicities that have affected security in the state. Authorities still have a long way to go to eradicate this problem and achieve a state of peace and tranquility in the region.