Tensions High in Mexican Border City near Texas amid Gulf Cartel Power Vacuum

Tension remains high in a Mexican border city in the weeks after the capture of the area’s top cartel boss because an heir remains to be named.

While Matamoros has not seen any major gun battles since the arrest of Jose Alfredo “El Contador” last month, instability remains as the boss’ family appears split on naming a successor for the Gulf Cartel faction.

Last month, Mexican federal authorities arrested El Contador” on a series of warrants for organized crime and kidnapping charges. His arrest left a power vacuum, however, violence has yet to dramatically follow.

The border city near Texas has seen a few smaller shootouts between gunmen, particularly on the southern and eastern sides, however, those clashes are ignored by local news outlets.

One of the possible successors to El Contador is his right-hand man Juan Manuel “Erick” Juarez Lawton. Juarez Lawton has begun approaching other commanders by threatening them into submission. Unconfirmed intelligence suggests he leaked El Contador’s location as a way to take control of the organization.

The main rival to Juarez Lawton is Jose Alberto “La Kena or Ciclon 19” Garcia Vilano, the former plaza boss for Matamoros. La Kena lost his position as regional leader following a fierce shootout with authorities. That shootout lasted for hours and left casualties including two innocent bystanders. One of those casualties was Ariel “El Tigre” Trevino, a top enforcer for the Gulf Cartel who led a strike team to rescue La Kena. However, when authorities began to hunt for El Tigre, La Kena left him to his fate, a move that got him demoted and forced to leave Matamoros.

Editor’s Note: Breitbart Texas traveled to Mexico City and the states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, and Nuevo León to recruit citizen journalists willing to risk their lives and expose the cartels silencing their communities.  The writers would face certain death at the hands of the various cartels that operate in those areas including the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas if a pseudonym were not used. Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles are published in both English and in their original Spanish. This article was written by “J.A. Espinoza”  and “J.C. Sanchez” from Tamaulipas. 

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