Cocaine, synthetic drugs, weapons, migrants, gasoline - this range of criminal economies has seen violence escalate in Mexico's northern state of Tamaulipas.
It was so simple once. The Gulf Cartel and its ancestors maintained control of Tamaulipas for eight decades.
As violence has continued to rise in Mexico year after year, criminal groups have adopted an increasingly militarized approach to their tactics, weaponry and training.
It was a Saturday, around 12:30 p.m. local time, when a caravan of three vehicles loaded with well-armed men and at least one woman began a violent rampage through Reynosa,…
Mexico's process of criminal fragmentation has been a slow burn. Many of the country's mightiest criminal groups have been unable to stay united, either due to internal strife, incursions from…
The embattled governor of a northern border state in Mexico is touting the timely arrests of those allegedly responsible for a grizzly June massacre, but doubts remain as to who…
Though the motive for the rampage in the northern Mexican border city of Reynosa that left scores of civilians dead remains unexplained, security experts point to three possible scenarios: a…
Time appears to be running out for the governor of the US-Mexico border state of Tamaulipas – after lawmakers stripped him of his immunity from prosecution and US officials shared…
Officials in Mexico City have launched a new program which will seek to impede criminal networks from recruiting minors across its Historic Center, suggesting the capital's government is taking an…
The Gulf Cartel is one of the oldest and most powerful of Mexicos criminal groups but has lost territory and influence in recent years to its rivals, including its…
Colombia’s last rebel army is now the most powerful criminal syndicate in Latin America, as it expands across Colombia and far into Venezuela, deepening its involvement in the drug trade.
While Mexico’s drug war has left much of its frontier with the United States threatened by cartel violence, a fine-tuned criminal strategy has allowed the border’s eastern extremity to remain…
A new set of migrant protocols implemented in the United States is requiring asylum seekers to wait out their court proceedings in various border towns in Mexico, where organized crime…
An infant was among more than a dozen people killed in a massacre during the heart of Holy Week in Mexico, underscoring the depth of the security challenges…
A new report says Mexico’s recently appointed supervisor of the country’s airports and ports is suspected of facilitating drug trafficking through airports.
The ongoing decline of the Gulf Cartel and the Zetas has left northeastern Mexico without a single dominant criminal force. But the crime groups' longstanding rivalry has continued to see…
A former leader of the Gulf Cartel has pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges in the United States, a reminder that the once-powerful crime group has all but disappeared…
A former Mexican governor captured in Italy faces extradition to the United States and Mexico, which may spark new tensions between the neighboring countries. …
The new governor of the state of Veracruz in eastern Mexico is facing cartel wars and spiraling violence after succeeding the fugitive Javier Duarte. And the disruption to the government-organized…
Official reports have revealed that recent outbreaks of violence in one of Mexico's main tourist areas could be due to clashes between an independent cartel and the Zetas, providing another…
Mexico's Defense Secretary says the army will send 500 soldiers to Ciudad Mier in the embattled state of Tamaulipas along the US-Mexico border, indicating that the Mexican government will…
A recent wave of violence in Mexico's most important tourism corridor has sparked fears about new conflicts between drug cartels seeking to gain control over the area.
The future of the recently elected governor in Tamaulipas, one of Mexicos most criminally infested states, depends on punishing his predecessors for past sins of corruption and collusion with…
A former cartel lawyer who led the Los Zetas Cartel before fleeing Mexico was an exception to the "rule" that top kingpins did not try to hide in the United States.
Beginning in the 1990s, Mexico's cartels began recruiting hired gunmen to act as armed cells. Since then, violence against civilians with no links to organized crime has escalated as these…
Mexico has extradited two alleged drug lords and nearly a dozen other suspected drug traffickers to the United States, a decision that was likely influenced by the escape of notorious…
Despite government efforts, fuel theft has risen in Mexico, at a time when falling oil and gas prices are already impacting the nation's economy and national budget.
Violence exploded in northeastern Mexico this week following the arrest of a Gulf Cartel leader, demonstrating the ability of drug cartels to brazenly create chaos in this hotbed of criminal activity.
A Wilson Center report says Mexico's efforts to improve security in two states containing major oil and gas reserves may yield only short-term results and primarily benefit foreign business, while…
A report from a prominent think tank tackles the new security strategy in Tamaulipas, one of Mexico's perennially conflictive northern states. …
Factions of the criminal organizations Zetas and Gulf Cartel announced the two criminal groups have formed an alliance, which, if true, would be a game changer in Mexico's underworld by…
The theft of fuel from Mexico's state-owned oil company Pemex has risen by around 33 percent this year, turning into a billion-dollar source of income for organized crime -- a…
According to Mexico's Attorney General's Office, there are nine major criminal cartels working with some 43 gangs in the country, further indication of just how much Mexican organized crime has…
Testimony from a US federal court provides more fuel for accusations that a former governor of Veracruz, Mexico, accepted cash from the Zetas, which was then part of the Gulf…
Mexico's Tamaulipas state was the site of nearly 60 percent of the country's kidnappings in July and saw a drastic spike in the crime compared to previous months, highlighting the…
The continued presence of criminal groups along some of Mexicos highways, especially in the embattled northeast, has become a litmus test for just how much control the government really has…
The Zetas and the Gulf Cartel have reportedly set up an extensive gasoline distribution system in north Mexico that rivals that of state oil company Pemex, as oil-theft trade becomes an ever…
Roughly half of the police in the north Mexico state of Tamaulipas have failed confidence tests, most due to links to organized crime or drug use, underscoring the debilitating degree…
Police have killed an original member of Mexico's vicious Zetas drug cartel, marking the latest loss among the group's Special Forces founders, who ushered in an era of brutal violence…
A wave of violence in northern Mexico has been attributed to a bloody struggle for control of the Gulf Cartel, suggesting long running internal disputes and the loss of key…
Authorities in Mexico have arrested a man they claim is a leader and founder of the Gulf Cartel, signaling another blow to a group that has already been weakened by…
Mexico's landmark oil reform is poised to bring a flood of new companies into the nation's energy industry, adding a new set of targets for organized crime.
Authorities in Colombia have captured a Venezuelan national wanted for drug trafficking in the United States, in a case that shines a light on how brokers bring together the major…
US government documents obtained by a Washington DC-based non-governmental organization shed some light on one of the darkest periods in recent Mexican history: the multiple massacres of migrants between August…
At least 13 people have been killed in three separate gun battles in the Mexican border city of Matamoros, in what could be the first sign of a predicted upsurge…
The Zetas and Gulf Cartel are imposing a toll on travel between two states in eastern Mexico, in a case highlighting the extent of the incursion of organized crime into…
Authorities in northern Mexico will request greater military assistance from the central government in the face of a recent surge in violence, as concern mounts over the possibility of renewed…
It is tempting to separate Mexico's drug cartels into six hierarchical groups, each competing for trafficking turf. The reality, however, is that the Sinaloa Federation, the Gulf Cartel, the Tijuana…
Three men will fight to control Mexico's Gulf Cartel following the capture of leader "X20" last week, according to US sources, although whether any of them are capable of uniting…
The army's capture of the head of the Gulf Cartel, Mario Ramirez Treviño, alias "X20," shows targeted efforts by the government are working in northeast Mexico but opens another dangerous…
A UNODC report states that the Pacific Cartel, a federation formed by Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel and Gulf Cartel, has formed alliances with El Salvador's Perrones transport group, confirming information that…
Drug traffickers survive under one premise: adapting to change. At the regional level, the agents of change emerge from the interaction between traffickers and the authorities, as well as…
Mario Ramirez Treviño, alias X20, was the head of the Gulf Cartel, an organization that has trafficked contraband and illegal drugs across the northeast of Mexico for close to 40…
As Mexico waits to see what will unfold in the wake the capture of feared the Zetas leader Miguel Angel Treviño, alias Z40, a commander in the rival Gulf Cartel…
The Zetas reportedly take in more than $350 million a year from exporting more than 40 tons of cocaine into the US. This interesting revelation, among others, came during testimony…
The Gulf Cartel has reportedly driven rival organization the Zetas out of the state of Quintana Roo and tourist hotspot Cancun, potentially leaving the resurgent cartel with control of a…
A Facebook page known as "Valor x Tamaulipas" and its Twitter account, both of which tracked crime in the embattled state by the same name, have been taken down following…
Inconsistent reports about a March 10 gun battle in Reynosa, along the US-Mexico border, illustrate how little verifiable information is available on what is happening in that and other areas…
An extremely violent video released online threatens those who use social media to report on organized crime in Mexico, underscoring the growing significance of platforms such as Facebook as…
Mexican officials have identified three new criminal groups which splintered off from the Zetas, Sinaloa and Gulf Cartels, according to a report which cites unidentified sources from the National Security…
Two large Mexican drug cartels -- once thought to be reeling due to infighting, pressure from authorities, and constant assaults by rivals -- appear to be on the rise again,…
A high ranking member of Mexico's Gulf Cartel has reportedly been assassinated near the group's northern stronghold of Reynosa, spelling either an incursion by the rival…
A recent US federal investigation into the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas has uncovered cooperation between the violent white supremacist gang and the Gulf Cartel, an example of increasing…
Gun battles reportedly between rival gangs in the border city of Reynosa over the weekend left nine dead and suggest the Zetas may be making a push to take over…
Narco-banners have appeared across Mexico with messages implying that a top leader of the Zetas has rejoined the ranks of the Gulf Cartel, calling attention to…
A recent wave of mass killings in Mexicos northeast could point to a succession battle in the Gulf Cartel, whose leader "El Coss" was…
Authorities in Mexico believe that the next leader of the Gulf Cartel could be a woman, an unusual development in the macho world of drug trafficking, but which might unite…
The capture of the Gulf Cartel's top leader could mean the end for one of Mexicos oldest drug trafficking organizations, handing the countrys northeast over to the divided…
Colombian police have arrested a man who is accused of being the Gulf Cartel's top man in South America.
The Mexican Navy announced the arrest of the brother of one of the original founders of the Gulf Cartel, Osiel Cardenas Guillen, in Tamaulipas state.
In what is shaping out to be one of the most prominent investigations ever into a Mexican politicians alleged links with criminal groups like the Zetas, a judge issued an…
The Mexican military has detained eight alleged members of the Gulf Cartel in connection with the dumping of 49 mutilated corpses in Nuevo Leon, a massacre which the Gulf apparently…
A nephew of captured Gulf Cartel boss Osiel Cardenas Guillen, who was hiding out in the US to avoid rivals in the group, has pleaded guilty to drug…
In the midst of a years-long fight against the Zetas for control of prized sections of borderland territory, the Gulf Cartel is increasingly relying on a…
A new report argues that, far from fracturing, Mexico's drug trafficking groups are stronger than at the beginning of Calderon's time in office. However, this overlooks the fragile and fast-changing…
Mexico's authorities are now saying a massacre at a Mexico prison was part of a sophisticated prison break involving guards. Thirty alleged members of the Zetas escaped, including "El Arana,"…
Forty four people are reported to have died in a prison fight in the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon, highlighting the bitter turf-war between Mexico's gangs and once again revealing…
The shifting balance of power in northeast Mexico has been bad news for the Gulf Cartel, which has seen its influence decline, but a new report from Proceso…
A federal investigation into three former governors of a Mexican border state may be a sincere attempt to crack down on political links with organized crime, but has…
A goalkeeper suspended from a first-division soccer team in Monterrey, north Mexico, has been arrested on charges of helping a kidnapping ring to select wealthy targets.
Letras Libras reports from the streets of Monterrey, a north Mexican city bloodied by disputes between the Zetas and the Gulf Cartel, where police are in desperately short supply…
An alleged financial operator for the Gulf Cartel was killed in Tamaulipas state, north Mexico, in what could be further evidence of infighting within the group.
The Mexican government has announced a plan to send additional federal police and military troops to the Gulf state of Veracruz under a unified command, in an attempt to…
Five years ago, the central-west states of Jalisco and Zacatecas were a relatively peaceful backwater in Mexico's battles with organized crime, but today the region is the site of growing…
The murder of two young people, whose bodies were hung from a bridge along with a sign warning against blogging on the drug trade, is only the latest blow in…
The latest shift in Mexicos perpetually changing criminal landscape is an alliance between the Zetas and the Milenio Cartel, which could be an ominous sign for the Pacific state of…
Mexico recaptures the alleged chief financial officer of the Gulf Cartel, nine years after he escaped prison.
Buried in President Calderon's speech on a Monterrey arson attack which left more than 50 dead was the key to why it happened: the rise of illegal gambling establishments in…
At least 14 bodies have been discovered in a series of mass graves in Nuevo Leon, north Mexico.
The slaughter of at least 20 people in a Monterrey bar is another violent manifestation of the ongoing battle for control of this north Mexico city, a vital…
The chief of police in a suburb of the wealthy north Mexico city of Monterrey has been gunned down, as authorities struggle to keep a lid on one of the…
Authorities in Nuevo Leon, Mexico, have announced the arrest of 26 local police officers, as they investigate the murder of two bodyguards serving the states governor.
Mexico's government argues that killing and arresting the leaders of drug cartels does not lead to increased violence. But is the "myth-busting" by President Calderon's security team just another type…
The discovery of a narco-tank factory in north Mexico is the latest evolution in traffickers' increasingly tactical struggle for territory. While some minimize the importance of these vehicles, they…
Mexico's army discovered a warehouse with four narco-tanks, two still unfinished, near the border city of Camargo. This is the biggest-yet find of such heavily fortified vehicles belonging…
Long hailed as one of Mexico's safest urban area, the city of Monterrey has erupted since 2010 in an outbreak of drug violence. But behind the present crisis is a…
The governor of Tabasco state, Mexico, announced that a group of Guatemalan former special forces, known as Kaibiles were responsible for the massacre of ten people at an…
A banner signed by Mexican drug gang the Beltran Leyva Organization claims that the group supports Javier Sicilia, a poet who has been campaigning for an end to drug violence…
With more than 1,400 murders related to organized crime, April was the deadliest month so far of Felipe Calderons presidency. But this figure may not entirely reflect the reality on…
The Zetas left dozens of narcomantas, or banners, in public places around the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon in the early hours of Tuesday morning. The signs were addressed to "informants"…
A spate of recent arrests in Morelos has confirmed the belief that the South Pacific Cartel (SPC) is the gang behind the March 28 murder of seven people, including Juan…
Mexican police announced the discovery of five mass graves near a shooting range in the municipality of Santa Catarina, Nuevo Leon. According to Milenio, the security…
The armored cars Mexican gangs use to do battle in the contested state of Tamaulipas are increasingly technologically sophisticated, equipped with sniper platforms and James Bond-style gadgets.
As more reports surface suggesting that the Zetas criminal syndicate is behind last weeks murder of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special agent Jaime Zapata in San Luis…
38 Mexican police officers in the small town of General Teran, in Nuevo Leon, abandoned their posts after a series of attacks from drug cartels culminated in the beheading of…
Gun battles have rocked Nuevo Leon during the first week of the new year. The border state is being contested by the Gulf Cartel, one of the oldest drug trafficking…
One of the most closely watched battles of 2010 was between the Zetas criminal syndicate and their former masters, the Gulf Cartel. The Zetas and the Gulf Cartel…
Mexico has sent more military and police to the Tamaulipas and Nuevo León states along the northeastern border with the US, in an effort to quell the violence caused by…
Mexicos Drug War has generated its first displaced persons camp, consisting of 400 people taking shelter at a charity facility located in the border city of Ciudad Miguel Alemán in…
Officials in the Mexican government fear an increase in violence in the northeastern border region, following the death of Gulf cartel leader Ezequiel Cárdenas Guillén, alias Tony Tormenta, reported Mexico's…
Authorities found the bodies of a mayor elect and two people who were accompanying him in Oaxaca state just hours after they were abducted from a restaurant by armed men,…
Five men, two of them ex-military, carrying explosives, weapons, flak jackets and T-shirts with the letters "MFG" were arrested in Jalisco, El Universal is reporting. The explosives are…
Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sanchez, alias "El Coss," headed the Gulf Cartel, which has its headquarters in Tamaulipas, along the eastern part of the US-Mexico border. He was detained by…
Antonio Cardenas Guillen, alias "Tony Tormenta," headed up the financial and logistics side of the Gulf Cartel, which his brother, Osiel Cardenas Guillen, once ran with an iron fist.
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