With almost complete impunity, the Gulf Cartel expanded its control in Tamaulipas to the point where it operates as an alternative government in the border city of Matamoros. Through this control, all businesses, including food vendors, flower shops, and even panhandlers, are required to pay a weekly protection fee to the Gulf Cartel. The cartel operates a massive database of the city’s commerce and even uses city officials to collect the funds.
This control is very convenient for local and state politicians who enjoy the narco-peace of sorts that comes from simply allowing the Gulf Cartel to operate undisturbed in exchange for keeping violence down and hiding its presence in the shadows. This control, while currently being overlooked by Mexico’s federal government since political allies control Tamaulipas, could spell trouble since the Trump Administration labelled the Gulf Cartel as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
Credit: Breitbart News Foundation / Cartel Chronicles
While this mode of operation is not new in this city, it has dramatically expanded in recent months as the Gulf Cartel and local politicians seek to keep a low profile. At the same time, other cartels in Mexico draw national headlines. Despite waging a turf war with rival factions in different cities, Matamoros has largely avoided large-scale shootouts, thus giving a false appearance of peace. However, that peace is due to the control the Gulf Cartel has over Matamoros, not any government security strategy.
Pay to Work
Due to the control the Gulf Cartel has in the city, anyone wanting to do business needs to pay a regular fee. Flower shops, butcher shops, corner stores, tire shops, taco trucks, even musicians and DJs are all visited by a cartel representative or a city employee and told of the mandatory fees or “cuota.” The payment must be made in cash; however, for medium to large-sized businesses, city officials provide a receipt for tax purposes.
In the case of a corn vendor who sells his product for 30 pesos per cup, he must pay a daily fee of 100 pesos. The owner of a barbacoa restaurant must pay 3,000 pesos per week. Tire shops that sell their tires for about 500 pesos have to sell 10-12 tires given to them by the Gulf Cartel or pay the difference.
Credit: Breitbart News Foundation / Cartel Chronicles
In the case of produce vendors, certain pharmacies, and even flower shops, in addition to the protection fees, businesses must obtain their products from the Gulf Cartel or its approved vendors.
This tactic has even moved into large-scale manufacturing plants that provide components for U.S. companies. The management in Mexico at some of these companies has been pressured or threatened into opening the door to cartel-approved vendors who pay a fee to the organization.
Complete Silence
“They even have a payment schedule where they offer discounts if you pay monthly or a yearly fee in advance,” said a local catering employee who recently had a wedding event destroyed by gunmen for not having used their flowers. “The boss tried to save money and had the flowers shipped (instead of buying from the Gulf Cartel),” he said. “They showed up during the party and broke everything.”
The company owner called the local authorities, but no one showed up. The following day, he went to the state attorney general’s office, where staffers told him that they could take his complaint but that they could not “guarantee his safety” in case the “affected party did anything”.
The impunity with which the Gulf Cartel operates is what keeps the business community quietly paying extortion to avoid any violence. In the past, the only individual who would speak up about cartel extortions and city officials going along with it was Julio Almanza, the late leader of a local chamber of commerce. In August 2024, a group of gunmen shot and killed Almanza outside of his office, Breitbart Texas reported. Before his murder, Almanza exposed some of the methods used by the Gulf Cartel and how Matamoros city officials collected the fees.
Editor’s Note: Breitbart News Foundation 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 News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles are published in both English and their original Spanish. This article was written by “J.A. Espinoza” and J.C. Sanchez” from Tamaulipas.
The Breitbart News Foundation is an independent non-profit. All content created by it is available for licensing without charge to any legitimate publisher with a large audience and that agrees to the licensing terms. For licensing information, please contact: licensing@breitbartnewsfoundation.com
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