Gulf Cartel News
The US-Mexico Border’s Eastern End: A Forgotten Criminal Enclave?
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 both a quiet backwater and a key crossing point for...
Gulf Cartel Profile
Gulf Cartel
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 former enforcer wing, the Zetas. In the cartel's heyday, its boss, Osiel Cardenas Guillen, was considered the countrys most powerful underworld leader, and the Zetas the most feared...
More Gulf Cartel News
Analysis /
Zetas-Gulf Cartel Conflict Continues to Rock Mexico’s Northeast
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...
Brief /
Former Boss of Mexico’s Gulf Cartel Pleads Guilty to US Drug Charges
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...
Brief /
An Extradition From Italy May Increase US-Mexico Tensions
A former Mexican governor captured in Italy faces extradition to the United States and Mexico, which may spark new tensions between the neighboring...
Analysis /
Violence in Veracruz as Cartels Adapt to New Political Dynamic
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...
Brief /
Violence in Mexico Tourism Corridor Reflects Evolving Criminal Trends
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...
Brief /
Militarized Approach Continues as Mexico to Send 500 Troops to Border Town
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...
Brief /
Violence in Mexico’s Tourism Epicenter Points to Cartel Conflict
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...
Analysis /
Elites, Organized Crime Share Long History in Tamaulipas, Mexico
The future of the recently elected governor in Tamaulipas, one of Mexicos most criminally infested states, depends on punishing his predecessors for past...
Analysis /
Top ‘Capo’ of Mexico’s Gulf Cartel Sought Haven in Texas
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...
