By Itzli.
Here we are for our third installment of CDG chismes, where I break down the latest online news, rumors, and gossip about the Cártel del Golfo (CDG, Gulf Cartel) and try to put it in context. I had planned on doing these periodically as I felt “needed” but I definitely didn’t expect to write another one so soon. Let’s dive in.
Maps
Earlier this weekMennyValdz, who has not only been active on Twitter for over a decade but is behind two blogs:"EPOCAVIOLENTA" SabiaCalle andBITACORA EPOCAVIOLENTA aka Menytimes Blog, posted a couple of maps that I wanted to share.
TheSan Luis Potosí map is an update to a map hepublished in December 2023 and when it’s all said and done not much has changed with the exception of the diminished power of Los Alemanes and a bit of expansion on the part of the CDG Matamoros Faction/Los Escorpiones.
Then there’s thelatest version of Tamaulipas, updating maps fromJanuary 2024 andDecember 2023. Is this 100% accurate? Most likely not but it definitely gives a perspective to consider.
CDN & Metros Fighting
With theend of the ceasefire between the Los Metros Faction of the CDG and the Cártel del Noreste (CDN) there have beennew videos of fighting between them. There’s not much information on that one, butthis one is said to have taken place betweenEl Nogalito andLos López andsupposedly two armored vehicles from the forces of “Galleta” from Miguel Aleman won against eight CDN armored vehicles. Anotherallegedly took place inLos Guerra with it said that Los Metros are also making incursions intoLos Aldamas, which has been controlled by the CDN.
Government Operations
On Monday, March 24th severalroadblocks popped up aroundDiaz Ordaz when government officials got into ashootout with Los Metros under the command of “El Pirata” andhis right hand man, “El Cherry”.Seven armored vehicles were seized in the operation andthere were claims that “El Pirata” was killed but it waslater said that this was false. The real name of “El Pirata” issaid to be Jaime Peña and he wasrecently mentioned as head of plaza in Diaz Ordaz; back in April 2023he was described as being in charge of trafficking migrants in Miguel Aleman.
One or two additional operation took place against Los Metros: areport on March 25th stated that five vehicles, three of which were armored, were seized in Reynosa anda report of eight vehicles, three of which were armored “monstruos” were seizedjust west of Reynosa, whichappears to be a general staging ground for operations in Diaz Ordaz and Tamaulipas/Nuevo León in general.
A major drug bust took place in San Fernando, with itreported on March 26th that 215 kilograms of methamphetamines was being shipped from Jalisco to McAllen, Texas. That same day itwas reported that three vehicles were seized in Valle Hermoso and from the pictures it looks like one was an armored “monstruo” and another was in the process of being constructed.
Río Bravo
Inmy first “chisme” article from the end of February I mentioned how there had been rumors of a ceasefire being negotiated between the Matamoros Faction and Los Metros. I guess I missed it going into effect because a number of people are mentioning it online recently and the reason is several days of activity in the Río Bravo area as the Matamoros Faction is apparently targeting Guardia Estatal (GE) forces.
Gunshots werereported in Río Bravo on Sunday, March 23rd but it was rumored that it was actually somedrunk members of the GE doing it. The next day a convoy of cartel forceswas reported heading toward Nuevo Progreso fromCanales. That evening theGE was attacked between Río Bravo and Matamoros and thereafter cartel forcesdropped road spikes throughoutthe area, includingNuevo Progreso,Rigo Tovar, andLucio Blanco. It waslater said that cartel forces had beenattacking GE forces arriving in Río Bravo thatapparently had not been corrupted. Blockadesoccurred on Wednesday night, March 26th,including Lucio Blanco, ascartel forces traveled the area. A major storm system went through the area on Thursday, March 27th and a lot of flooding occurred so we should expect things to calm down for a bit.
Allende-Linares
Okay, I’m getting bored with my own article so let’s get to the good stuff that made me want to write in the first place. When we talk about the CDG we usually focus on Tamaulipas and it’s only been fairly recently that I’ve brought up the northeast part of Nuevo León. One thing that gets overlooked all too often is the cartel activity southeast of Monterrey, particularly in the stretch fromCiudad de Allende toMontemorelos toLinares.
Back in the spring of 2023it was said that Allende was where members of Los Metros would hide out. In July of that year Linares, which lies on amigrant trafficking route from Matehuala, San Luis Potosí to Camargo/Miguel Aleman via China, Nuevo León, became a battleground as CDNforces under “Comandante Pollo” began attacking the Fuerza Civil there, havinglinked up with “La Cotorra”, a former member of the Sinaloa Cartel that operated in Galeana.It appears that the CDN was contesting control of Linares with the San Fernando Faction of the CDG which is made up ofLos Sierra, Zetas Vieja Escuela (ZVE), and Los Panteras. In November 2023 the San Fernando Faction issaid to have sent forces fromMéndez, Tamaulipas to Linares and several locations in northeast Nuevo León. Similarly, a convoy of “monstruos” being sent to Linares fromBurgos and San Fernandowere said to have been spotted inEjido Lucio Blanco, Tamaulipas in July 2024, apparently to reinforce fighting against the CDNunder the command of “Franky Esqueda”.
In September 2024 the CDNseems to have added forces to Linares as well asHualahuiches, Montemorelos, andGeneral Teràn. Around this timeit was said that Operativa Fénix of Los Metros was operating in Linares andJose “El Zombie”, who operated in this area, fell on November 20, 2024. Two weeks later, 9 members ofLos Metros were arrested in the area. On January 12, 2024 themayor’s office in Galeana was shot androadblocks appeared along with trailers set on firebetween Linares and Hualahuiches. Thereafter, itwas reported that “El Cotorra” had been killed
Itwas reported that last week a convoy of cartel gunmen attacked police officers in Allende and onSaturday, March 22nd seven members of Los Metroswere reported to have been arrested in Linares. That evening itwas reported that cartel members attacked officials in Allende and Linares. On Monday, March 24th an armed clash betweencartel gunmen and the Fuerza Civil in Montemoreloswas said to have left eight dead. The following dayword spread that the rural town of Raynoes, Nuevo León was being abandoned over the past two weeks due to cartel violence.
Return of Los Fresitas
Okay so we’re up to speed, we have an area of Nuevo León that has been contested by the CDN and Los Metros/San Fernando Factions of the CDG for quite some time but here’s where the gossip gets juicy, members of Los Fresitas are allegedly involved in the latest “uptick” of violence in the area.
Back in April 2014 a conflict in Tampico was just starting which would lead to the formation of Los Rojos, also known as Los Fresitas, under the command of R1, Silvestre “El Chive” Haro Rodriguez, who wasarrested in August 2015 and his brother R2, Antonio “El Toñin” Haro Rodriguez, who wasarrested in April 2016. Since then Tampico has been under the control of R3, Héctor Crescencio “El Teto” de León Fonseca but here’s the thing, in Mexico you never know when people are quietly released from prison.
Guess who’s back? In October 2020 itwas said that “El Toñin” had been out of jail since mid-2018. In October 2019 a person claiming to be thedaughter of “El Chive” implied that he was either out of jail or would be getting out soon. In July 2021 itwas said that the brothers were wanting to overthrow R3 and rumors that “El Chive” was being backed by someone in the CJNG. In October 2022 itwas claimed that “El Chive” wasin San Luis Potosí, in February 2023 itwas said that “El Toñin” was fighting the CDN in Los Metros territory, and in December 2023 that they both were“flirting” with Los Metros.
This all ties back to the attack on police officers in Allende last week. Therumor is that “El Toñin” was behind it and is being backed by the CJNG, which wasechoed again on the 27th. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for confirmation.
Odds and Ends
I alreadywrote an article about this so I won’t rehash everything but CDG Matamoros Faction cell leader José Francisco “Alfa 1” Contreras Gómez that operated in Guanajuato and Querétaro was arrested last week. He was on my radar when I wrotepart 13 of the CDG Matamoros series and I’ve tried digging into his arrest in 2008 but haven’t had any luck; I’m really curious where it took place and if he was presented as a CDG member then.
Same goes with thedeath of Mario Armando “El Pelón” Ramírez Treviño, it was awesome that Char got the scoop and pushed me to help write up the news before any other media reported it.
That’s it for now so let’s get the conversation rolling on the comments or feel free to hit me up at itzli.borderland.beat@gmail.com