Gunmen from the Mexican terrorist organization known as the Gulf Cartel killed a young girl from Texas and injured others during attempts to rescue a captured crime boss considered the number two leader of the criminal organization.
As Breitbart reported, the case took place on Thursday afternoon in Matamoros, where members of Mexico’s National Guard and Mexican Navy arrested Axel Alfredo “Titan” Cardenas as he was driving a blue Lamborghini Urus along one of the city’s main avenues. After the arrest, Mexican authorities worked to move Cardenas to the Matamoros airport in order to move him to Mexico City, where he is wanted on federal charges in connection with his role as a leading figure in the Gulf Cartel.
Credit: Breitbart News Foundation / Cartel Chronicles
After the arrest, Gulf Cartel gunmen clashed with Mexican authorities in various parts of Matamoros in an attempt to rescue Cardenas.
Como resultado de trabajos de inteligencia militar de @Defensamx, Fuerzas Especiales del Ejército Mexicano y de la @GN_MEXICO_ detuvieron en Matamoros, Tamaulipas, a dos personas, entre ellas Axel Alfredo “N”, alias “Axel”, identificado como segundo al mando de la célula delictiva “Ciclones”.
Axel Alfredo “N” está relacionado con homicidios, secuestro, extorsión y tráfico de drogas, armas y personas hacia Estados Unidos. También es señalado como responsable de la agresión contra integrantes de @SSPCMexico, ocurrida el pasado 17 de mayo, en la que lamentablemente perdió la vida un compañero y varios más resultaron heridos. Su memoria y el compromiso de quienes arriesgan la vida para proteger a la ciudadanía nos obligan a continuar las investigaciones hasta detener a todos los responsables. No permitiremos que esta agresión quede impune.
Durante la acción se aseguraron armas, cargadores, cartuchos, droga y un vehículo. Ambos detenidos fueron trasladados por la @FuerzaAereaMx a la Ciudad de México.
— Omar H Garcia Harfuch (@OHarfuch) October 29, 2026
It was during one of those clashes that a seven-year-old girl from Texas was fatally shot, while her father was injured as the two drove along the streets of the Las Rusias neighborhood. Law enforcement sources revealed to Breitbart News Foundation that the young girl was born in Texas and went by the name of Araiza “N”.
#VoceríaInforma
#MatamorosCon información de la Fiscalía General de Justicia del Estado, se informa el lamentablemente fallecimiento de una menor de edad, así como dos personas lesionadas, derivado de los incidentes registrados este día en Matamoros.
La Fiscalía realiza las investigaciones correspondientes para esclarecer los hechos y deslindar las responsabilidades conforme a derecho.
— Vocería de Seguridad Tamaulipas (@VoceriaSegTamps) October 30, 2026
During those clashes, cartel gunmen also injured a member of the city’s civil protection department who was rushed to a local hospital and is expected to recover.
Credit: Breitbart News Foundation / Cartel Chronicles
Additionally, the criminal organization torched various vehicles and carjacked tractor-trailers to set up blockades along main avenues in an attempt to spread terror and pressure Mexico’s government to release Cardenas.
Credit: Breitbart News Foundation / Cartel Chronicles
The terror spread by the cartel prompted the U.S. government to temporarily shut down three international ports of entry connecting Matamoros with Brownsville, Texas.
Credit: Breitbart News Foundation / Cartel Chronicles
The move was unsuccessful as Mexican authorities flew him to Mexico City and are holding in a federal detention center as they await hearings before a judge. Cardenas’ role as the number two in the Gulf Cartel comes from his father, Alfredo “El Contador” Cardenas, the current leader of the criminal organization. After his arrest in 2022, El Contador spent time in a Mexican prison fighting his extradition to the United States. However, in 2024, a judge in Mexico released him on a ruling based on an injunction filed by his defense team. He has been on the run since.
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 “Francisco Morales”. “J.A. Espinoza” and “J.C. Sanchez” from Tamaulipas.
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