The terrorist organization known as the Gulf Cartel is using arson as a tool in their extortion operations. The terrorist-designated cartel is focusing on larger businesses, including manufacturing plants, food distributors, and restaurants, as a way to force them to pay a protection fee.
The most recent incident took place this week, when gunmen from the Gulf Cartel set fire to a truck yard and warehouse of a snack distribution company. The fire razed one of their warehouses and destroyed at least 40 delivery trucks.
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The city’s local fire department was unable to stop the fire, which raged on for several hours. Local and state law enforcement officials also responded to the scene but have not been able to locate the gunmen responsible for the arson.
As Breitbart Texas has reported, the terrorist organization known as the Gulf Cartel has a long history of extorting local businesses in cities like Matamoros and Reynosa, Tamaulipas, oftentimes with the help of corrupt city officials. The issue had drawn national attention in Mexico. Despite the national attention, in the summer of 2024, Gulf Cartel gunmen shot and killed Julio Almanza, the president of the local chapter of the National Chamber of Commerce, who was very outspoken on the issue and had given numerous interviews exposing cartel extortions.
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So far this year, Matamoros has had five high-profile arson cases tied to Gulf Cartel extortions; however, government officials have tried to hide the issue.
- On January 23, a fire at the Spellman manufacturing plant caused large-scale damage in the facility. During the fire, three local firefighters died when one of the structures collapsed. Initially, city officials tried to claim it was an electrical fire; however, law enforcement sources revealed to Breitbart Texas that the fire was intentional and it was classified as inconclusive.
- On May 5, a fire at another manufacturing plant called Cypress Industries also caused large-scale damage to the facility. Authorities claimed that the fire started in the plant’s boiler room. Emergency personnel were able to evacuate the plant, and no injuries were reported.
- On July 6, a fire burned out a seafood restaurant along Camino Real Avenue. The fire consumed the entire building before firefighters were able to put out the flames. According to law enforcement sources, months prior, an individual had tried to set fire to the place but was not successful.
- On July 7, A fire ripped through the Paseo Palmares commercial plaza, consuming four of the shops there. The shopping center was shut down after the fire.
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” from Tamaulipas.
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