The Emerging War for Reynosa

"Itzli" for Borderland Beat, Images & Graphics by "Hearst"

The city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas is in the crosshairs; threats of war are emerging from the east and west and internal infighting is increasing the possibility of changes that have not been seen in quite some time.

The Plaza of Reynosa

Within the state of Tamaulipas there are a number of cities, towns, and rural points on the border which provide lucrative access for drug smuggling, as well as migrant smuggling, into the United States. Of these, the city of Reynosa is arguably the second or third most valuable, closely matched with Matamoros and falling behind to Nuevo Laredo.

In the 1990s the Cartel del Golfo (CDG, Gulf Cartel), based out of Matamoros, began its domination of this plaza up until early 2010 when Los Zetas, formally the armed wing of the CDG, fully broke away from its parent organization following three years of independence in association with the CDG. Although heavily entrenched in the plaza of Reynosa, Los Zetas were driven out of the city by a subgroup of the CDG known as Los Metros.

Thereafter, a stalemate emerged to the west of Reynosa as Los Zetas controlled the area from Nuevo Laredo southeast to Nueva Ciudad Guerrero and the CDG dominated from the Gulf of Mexico through Ciudad Mier, leaving the 10 mile stretch between the two cities as a frequent warzone as both sides attempted to incur into each other's territory.

Meanwhile, the CDG itself began to fracture into various factions, the most prominent of which were the original core, based out of Matamoros, and Los Metros, based out of Reynosa, which continued to control the border region west of Reynosa known as La Frontera Chica through Ciudad Mier. Within the scope of the conflict between the factions of Matamoros and Los Metros, the plaza of Río Bravo became a frequent warzone and, in fact, has often dictated the course of CDG history.

The Continued CDN Threat

The Cartel del Noreste (CDN, Northeast Cartel) emerged in Nuevo Laredo as a rebranding of sorts of Los Zetas. Under the leadership of Juan Gerardo Treviño Chavez, alias “El Huevo”, the CDN managed to push further east than the pervious stalemate and, in time, took control of Ciudad Mier, pushing the conflict zone between the CDN and Los Metros to the area between Ciudad Mier and Ciudad Miguel Alemán.

Meanwhile, the CDN opened up a second front against Los Metros from the south, ultimately targeting the plaza of Camargo, as previously reported by Borderland Beat. Amidst this two pronged offensive against Los Metros, rumors briefly emerged regarding a split within the CDN as members on the war front wanted to become an independent organization due to a lack of support from CDN leadership in Nuevo Laredo. However, these rumors faded quickly and may have been misinformation.

In recent weeks, a line of rumors indicated that the CDN was supporting the Morena candidate for governor of Tamaulipas, Américo Villarreal Anaya, in the June 5, 2022 election. It was to be expected that, regardless of the winner, shifts in the cartel landscape in Tamaulipas would likely emerge in the coming weeks and months. With Américo Villarreal winning the election, the CDN could potentially take an even more aggressive stance as they ultimately seek to take over the Reynosa plaza should the rumors prove true.

Allies Become Enemies

The power of Los Metros has always stemmed from their control of Reynosa and the wealth that it provided along with a number of smaller border plazas in the Frontera Chica. However, Los Metros have long suffered from a lack of stable centralized leadership and, more often than not, the leader of Los Metros faces well positioned subordinates looking to expand their power with the ultimate goal of taking control of the cartel faction for themselves.

In this context, the leadership of César Morfín Morfín, alias “El Primito”/code name “M300”, has been notable in the simple fact that he has managed to lead Los Metros without being arrested, killed, or overthrown since he emerged as leader in 2018 despite not being well known before this time.

That is not to say that there has not been infighting within Los Metros during his leadership, as a number of members have been killed, the most notable of which occurring this year being that of Rafael Joaquin Salinas Aparicio, code name “Metro 32”, which was reported by Borderland Beat at the end of January.

Immediately thereafter, rumors frequently popped up stating that the next two members of Los Metros that would be taken out by order of “El Primito” would be the brothers Héctor Sánchez Rivera, alias “La Mimi”/code name “M-1” and Ernesto Sánchez Rivera, alias “La Mierda”/code name “M-22”.

On Saturday, June 11, 2022 a relatively minor incident took place in the Aquiles Serdán neighborhood of Reynosa, an area of the city under the control of “La Mimi” and “La Mierda”, when a State Police vehicle was attacked by armed men around 9:00 AM. While it seems insignificant in the grand scheme of things, it was the visible signaled of major events occurring in the shadows.

By noon of that same day, rumors emerged that Carlos Humberto Acuña de los Santos, alias “El Mono”/code name “M36”, the head of the Reynosa plaza, had turned on “La Mimi” and “La Mierda”, and that the brothers had fled the city. Brietbart would go so far as to later claim that they crossed into the United States and were with family members living in Hildago, TX.

The following day, Sunday, June 12, Twitter reports indicated that a convoy of trucks marked "M-58" was seen in Aquiles Serdán. It can be tentatively assumed that these individuals were acting under Roque Barriga Cruz Fuentes, alias "El Roke"/"El Roque" and code names "M58" and "M107", who is the operations chief in Reynosa under "El Mono".

It can be readily assumed that the move by “El Mono” came on orders of “El Primito”, who had made yet another move to ensure continued control of the Los Metros Faction of the CDG but, in doing so, has likely turned the brothers into full enemies rather than the potential rivals they had been up to this point.

The Fading Peace Agreement

When Los Metros first split from the core of the CDG based out of Matamoros, the plaza of Río Bravo was controlled by a group within the cartel known as Los Panteras, which apparently joined with the breakaway faction, thus ensuring initial control of Río Bravo under the leadership of Los Metros in Reynosa.

However, Río Bravo’s traditional ties to the Matamoros plaza, as well as it being a staging ground for trafficking through the Donna Bridge and, more significantly, through Nuevo Progreso into Progreso, led Río Bravo to become a center of conflict between the two factions of the CDG, with Matamoros eventually taking full control of the plaza despite being less than five miles from the eastern edge of the city of Reynosa.

Under the leadership of the Matamoros Faction of the CDG, the Río Bravo evolved into a refuge for some former members of Los Metros who had conflicted with the Los Metros Faction proper, most notably Petronilo Moreno Flores, alias “El Panilo”/code name “Metro 100”, prior to his arrest, Juan Francisco Martínez Ramírez, alias “El Paquito”/code name “Metro 77”, following his release from prison, and Juan Miguel Lizardi Castro, alias “El Miguelito”/code name “Metro 56”.

The Matamoros Faction of the CDG did not stop there campaign against Los Metros at Río Bravo; instead they used the city as a launching point for incursions into the city of Reynosa. One particularly notable offensive took place on June 19, 2021, covered immediately by Borderland Beat, which was reportedly ordered by “El Paquito”, “El Miguelito”, and members of the Matamoros Faction of the CDG.

A month later banners appeared in Tamaulipas announcing that a truce had been reached between three CDG factions: Los Metros under “El Primito”, Matamoros under the name of SC XIX Grupo Scorpion, which was interpreted to reference the Matamoros subgroup Los Escorpiones and their leader José Alberto García Vilano, alias “La Kena”/code name “Ciclón 19”, and Los Rojos of Tampico, a CDG faction which has traditionally been aligned with the Matamoros Faction. 

It is worth noting that, according to numerous rumors, the government of Tamaulipas helped broker and enforce the truce and, nearly a year later, it had managed to stay in effect, with all parties holding to it until recently.

Around the same time on Saturday, June 11, 2022 that the rumors emerged regarding “La Mimi” and “La Mierda” fleeing Reynosa, information began to spread openly that sources had been saying for days that the truce had fallen apart. It was specifically stated that “El Miguelito” had given the greenlight to the Matamoros Faction to enter Reynosa with his support. Furthermore, it was stated that “La Kena” had been in Nuevo Progreso recently to speak with “El Joker”/“Comandante Casco” and other high ranking members of the cartel to prepare for the coming war. 

The following day, June 12, Loba Indomable, a Twitter account that reports heavily on Tamaulipas cartel activity around the Reynosa area, posted that they had been notified about a caravan of armed men that was spotted around Valle Hermoso heading to Río Bravo.

That evening, Reynosa Codigo Rojo, a Twitter account dedicated to "red alert" situations in Reynosa, reported that “La Kena” had ordered “El Miguelito” to give support to “La Mimi” and “La Mierda” in order to gain control of Reynosa. 

The prevailing question to be confirmed: have Los Escorpiones of the Matamoros Faction of the CDG already entered Reynosa?

Sources: El Mañana, Carmen E, Tamaulipas R-T-C, Loba Indomable, Reynosa Codigo Rojo