Mexican Marines Quiet the Storm

Update: It is believed that Ezequiel Cardenas Guillen was briefly captured during the confrontation but somehow managed to gain his freedom and remains at large.

Ezequiel Cardenas Guillen, "Tony Tormenta", the main leader of the Gulf Cartel was arrested this afternoon amid heavy fighting that left many dead in Matamoros. This information was confirmed by reliable military sources in addition to the main stream media. La Reforma, and El Norte used unnamed law enforcement sources and witnesses to report on the outcome of the military operation.

"Tony Tormenta" is the brother of Osiel Cardenas Guillen, who was at one time the leader of this same criminal organization who would eventually be arrested and is now serving a 25-year sentence in a U.S. federal prison.

In the firefight it is believed that "El Tyson" or "M3" was also detained, he is the third in command of the Gulf Cartel who are currently waging a war against "Los Zetas" for control of the northeastern Mexican Border States. Lost Zetas are the former armed wing of the Gulf cartel.

The military operation was carried out by elements of the Mexcian Naval Marines against sicarios of the Gulf cartel resulted in at least three separate shootouts in different parts of Matamoros this afternoon, as reported by the Daily Texan Brownsville Herald.

The newspaper reported that the first shootout took place in the district of Expo Fiesta Sur, where a commando of the Gulf Cartel attempted to raid a Zeta safe house.

This forced the marines to advance on the operation to arrest Tony Tormenta that had been scheduled for later in the afternoon.

A convoy of the marines came upon a heavily armed commando of the Gulf Cartel adjacent to the facilities of the Matamoros Municipal Police station.

According to witnesses this confrontation that would be reinforced by naval helicopters resulted in many casualties of sicarios and possibly military personnel.

The confrontation then turned in to a chase through the streets of the border town culminating in the exclusive neighborhood of Las Arboladas near the region of Playa Lauro Villar, very near to one of the international bridges in the area.

The confrontation in Las Arboladas was particularly violent, with a high number of dead that included soldiers and sicarios of the Gulf Cartel.

"Eyewitnesses reported seeing dozens of bodies of both armed gunmen and Mexican soldiers," reported the Brownsville Herald.

The "M3" had arrived to reinforce and to strengthen the criminal organization with an undetermined number of armed sicarios. The marines also required and received reinforcement from additional military forces.

It was in Las Arbolada that Cardenas Guillen was arrested and was immediately transferred this afternoon to the facilities of the PGR in Mexico City.

M3 is said to have also been arrested but his current whereabouts are unknown.

Other news:
"El Universal" had hinted that Tony Tormenta had been killed in a shootout, but that version is not panning out. "Military forces engaged armed gunmen, killing one of them, in a confronation after the military attempted to stop them. They have ruled that the dead victim, still unidentified, could be that of Tony Tormenta, brother of Osiel Cardenas Guillen," according to the news from El Universal.

Proceso also reported the confrontation and confirmed that the sicarios fighting were part of the Gulf cartel that included Tony Tormenta in the group.

BIO:
Antonio Ezequiel Cardenas-Guillen, is the brother of Osiel Cardenas-Guillen and close associate of Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sanchez. Cardenas-Guillen is believed to facilitate the planning, overseeing and directing of the drug trafficking and money collection activities in Matamoros, Mexico and control the Matamoros-Brownsville corridor on behalf of the Gulf Cartel.

Cardenas-Guillen is believed to have begun his drug trafficking career during the late 1980s. Cardenas-Guillen rose through the ranks of the Gulf Cartel and was eventually given command over the Matamoros Plaza.

He, along with other Gulf Cartel associates, is responsible for multi-ton shipments of marijuana and cocaine from Mexico to the United States. He is charged in a 2008 Federal indictment in the District of Columbia with violations of Title 21 USC Sections 959, 960, 963, and Title 18 USC Section 2.

The U.S. Department of State is currently offering a Reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Antonio Ezequiel Cardenas-Guillen.

The Gulf Cartel
The Gulf Cartel, originally founded in Mexico the 1930s to smuggle whiskey and other illicit commodities into the United States, expanded significantly by the 1970s under Juan Garcia-Abrego, who became the first drug trafficker to be placed on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted List.

Following his 1996 arrest by Mexican authorities and subsequent deportation to the United States, Oscar Malherbe-De Leon took control of the cartel until his arrest a short time later. He was replaced by Osiel Cardenas-Guillen, who was arrested in 2003, and extradited to the United States in 2007.

The Department of State Narcotics Rewards Program played a significant role in the capture of all three of these Gulf Cartel leaders, with reward offers and subsequent reward payments. The Gulf Cartel controls most of the cocaine and marijuana trafficking through the Matamoros, Mexico corridor to the United States.

Los Zetas
Los Zetas evolved from a small group of deserters from the Mexican Special Forces, hired by Osiel Cardenas-Guillen for his personal security, into a ruthless security force for the entire Gulf Cartel.

Los Zetas also took responsibility for the safe passage of the Gulf Cartel’s cocaine and other drugs from Mexico to the United States and have become a significant drug trafficking organization in their own right.

Los Zetas are credited with rising rates of violence within Mexico, largely attributed to turf battles with other drug cartels.