(April 9) Borderland Beat. Evaristo Cruz Sanchez ('El Vaquero'), a Gulf Cartel faction boss that was recently arrested in Nuevo Leon, was on the payroll system of the municipal government of Matamoros, Tamaulipas.
The alleged drug kingpin received a gross monthly salary of MXN$10,000 (about US$500) as an assigned member of the Municipal Public Security Secretariat under Matamoros mayor Mario López Hernández ('La Borrega').
According to the National Transparency Platform, 'El Vaquero' was incorporated into the municipal government with the position of municipal watchman since January 1, 2018. With this position, 'El Vaquero' had an official public security identification card.
A source consulted by Borderland Beat confirmed that the municipal watchman position was created in the administration of Tomas Yarrington Ruvalcaba, former Governor of Tamaulipas who recently pleaded guilty to money laundering in a US courtroom.
El Vaquero was arrested by the Mexican Army in Salinas Victoria, a municipality of the Monterrey metropolitan area, earlier this week. He was arrested with an individual who was a former Zetas member and was actively working for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
Sources in Tamaulipas consulted by Borderland Beat told us that El Vaquero was planning to meet with members of the CJNG in San Luis Potosi prior to his arrest.
On several occasions, El Vaquero used taxi drivers and bus drivers to block streets in Matamoros to prevent authorities from capturing him. They claimed to be holding a peaceful protest, but unnamed U.S. officials stated that the protesters were organized by El Vaquero after Tamaulipas Governor Francisco Javier García Cabeza de Vaca ordered Mexico's drug task force to crack down on cartel violence in the area.
El Vaquero was initially a member of the Matamoros faction Los Ciclones, but he had a fall out with the group and sided with Jose Alfredo Cardenas Martinez ('El Contador') and created another faction, Los Espartanos. El Vaquero's group was mostly active outside of Tamaulipas, particularly in San Luis Potosi and the State of Mexico.
Citizen journalists in Tamaulipas informed this week that there is a successor to El Vaquero.
Among the names withdrawn from the cartel's successor hat is Oscar Antonio Lopez Sandoval ('La Droga' and/or 'Ciclon 89'). Sources say he is the Gulf Cartel plaza boss in Nuevo Progreso, Tamaulipas, a small Mexican border town that is a popular medical tourism destination for Texas residents.
Another possible successor is Gerardo Meade Benavides ('La Perra'), a close associate of El Vaquero. He was arrested last year, but a source consulted by Borderland Beat confirmed that he was released and returned to Matamoros.
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