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Wednesday, September 9, 2020

US and Mexican Authorities Collaborate to Find Gulf Cartel Faction Boss 'El Vaquero'

 "MX" for Borderland Beat

Evaristo Cruz Sanchez ("El Vaquero", The Cowboy)

Authorities in South Texas and Tamaulipas announced yesterday that they are joining efforts to capture Evaristo Cruz Sanchez ('El Vaquero', The Cowboy), a high-ranking Gulf Cartel faction boss.

This collaboration is part of the Se Busca Informacion (Seeking Information) Initiative, a bi-national law enforcement program that has yielded important arrests since it was launched in the Rio Grande Valley and Tamaulipas in 2016. Billboards displaying mugshots can be found at the legal ports of entry and at the U.S. Border Patrol checkpoints. These billboards are aimed at obtaining anonymous information on the suspects, potentially leading to a successful prosecution.

In early 2019, Borderland Beat reported that the Government of Tamaulipas issued a MXN$2 million bounty (approximately US$85,000 at that time) to anyone that provided valuable information that led to El Vaquero's arrest. He was wanted for extortion, kidnapping and organized crime involvement in Mexico. 

Background

El Vaquero is a high-ranking cartel member who had ties to the Matamoros faction. He is also known by his alias Ciclon 46, in reference to the local faction Los Ciclones. Since mid-2019, Borderland Beat forum contributors noted that El Vaquero was vying for the control of Matamoros. His main rival is Mario Alberto Cárdenas Medina ('El Betito'), another local cartel boss.

El Betito was arrested in 2019 but continued to fight El Vaquero for control of Matamoros by siding with local plaza boss Raul Garcia Martinez ('Escorpion 2') and by working through envoys like the recently-released kingpin Víctor Manuel Vázquez Mireles ('El Meme Loco'), as reported by Borderland Beat.

In efforts to improve his public image, El Vaquero launched a social media campaign to portray himself in a positive light. During the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico, El Vaquero gained international headlines for handing out food and supplies in Matamoros and Ciudad Victoria. Borderland Beat reported that among the supplies provided included non-perishable goods like beans, rice, cooking oil, cookies, soups, coffee, condensed milk, tuna, cereal and other basic food items.

Recent events

A day before this announcement, taxi drivers and bus drivers blocked several roads in Matamoros, including one that leads to the Gateway International Bridge. They claimed to be holding a peaceful protest, but unnamed U.S. officials stated that the protesters were organized by El Vaquero after Tamaulipas Governor Francisco Javier García Cabeza de Vaca ordered Mexico's drug task force to crack down on cartel violence in Matamoros.

Matamoros has been on the national spotlight in recent weeks due to several high-profile incidents. Last month, Borderland Beat reported the murder of Lizbeth Flores, a U.S. citizen who went missing in Matamoros and was then found dead near a public library; she was stripped naked by her assassins and had all her teeth pulled out.

A narco-tunnel was discovered in a neighborhood close to the border with Brownsville a few weeks later, as reported by Borderland Beat.

Sources: Milenio; La Silla Rota; Borderland Beat archives

18 comments:

  1. @MX what happened to el contador?

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  2. In all seriousness ,why the hell have they not gone hardcore mode to el mencho. That fucker is the new el chapo but far worse.

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    1. I'm sure both US y Mexico has teams actively looking for El Senor Mencho. They won't announce their resources and show their hand. If they don't catch him then they look stupid. If they catch him they look like gold.

      I'm guessing El Senor Mencho learned from Chapos stupid mistakes and is holed up in the mountains like El Senor Mayo.

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  3. So Ciclones and Escorpiones are at war? I thought they were united in Matamoros to fight Metros from Reynosa.

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  4. Cartels have the power. And the population behind them. Cartels control Mexico, the President Amlo give it to them.

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  5. He thinks he is a big shot, wait and see how he behaves when caught.

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  6. So El Meme Loco is back in the game? It seems he is making a play for Moros.

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    1. Yes, at least that's what authorities think. He's mentioned in the legal documents against El Betito. I'm unsure if Meme Loco is officially charged yet.

      However, he's still wanted U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas for the 1999 assault against U.S. federal agents and for marijuana/cocaine trafficking.

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  7. No bigger ranking than francisco javier garcia cabeza de cagadas de vacas...please! And there are viejidio Cantú and Manuel Cavazos Lerma, WTF!
    --Les regalo el Vaquero de pilón.

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  8. At least he gave food to the poor. Anything about Letys Dad? Former mayors dad kidnaped?

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    1. He was released after 7 days. A ransom was paid.

      https://www.elmanana.com/liberan-a-ex-diputado-plagiado-confirman-el-pago-de-rescate-delincuencia-plagio-secuestro/5135397

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  9. The tamauilipas governor and the metros and cdn leadership shld be the priority of whomever the fuck is looking for this dude. They are incredibly violent. The rumors of a divided matamoros faction are overblown. El contador left this guy in charge and thats it. The rest of the punk ass cardenas bitches have to take it and shut the fuck up. El meme if hes going to dive back in the game has to look at what happened to el kelin el z12 also known as el rex and carlos rosales. Al high ranking cdg members el kelin was oziel closest man outside of el coss. Rosales was with cdg but basically was his own cartel boss. And all got killed by the guys out now

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  10. Hey, I found him, now send me the money gringos, jajaja. Seriously, I'm still looking . . . .

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  11. That's one filthy Sanchez if I've ever seen one...

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  12. Any word on former mayor of Matamoras whose dad was kidnapped?

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    1. He was released after 7 days. A ransom was paid.

      https://www.elmanana.com/liberan-a-ex-diputado-plagiado-confirman-el-pago-de-rescate-delincuencia-plagio-secuestro/5135397

      Delete

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