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Monday, January 6, 2020

Throwback Series: 1980s Gulf Cartel Bosses 'El Cacho' and 'El Profe'

"Morogris" for Borderland Beat (formerly "MX")


Note from Morogris: I visited print archives in Matamoros several weeks back and found pictures of two Gulf Cartel bosses from the 1980s. These pictures are not available online and are the first depictions of these individuals on the web. They are found in the print versions of El Bravo newspaper from May 1984.

Below are short bios of these individuals. I'll make larger/detailed bios of them later this year.


Casimiro Espinosa Campos ("El Cacho")

El Cacho was one of the top crime bosses of Matamoros in the 1980s. He led a faction that was responsible for stealing cars across the Texas/Tamaulipas border as well as smuggling narcotics through the Rio Grande Valley.

He shared the plaza with Juan N. Guerra, who later passed the reigns to his nephew Juan Garcia Abrego. Garcia Abrego decided to eliminate his competition and ordered a hit on El Cacho. One morning in May 1984, El Cacho was phone called by Oscar López Olivares ("El Profe") to have coffee. When El Cacho showed up at his home, he was wounded by El Profe and his bodyguard.

El Cacho went to a clinic in Matamoros, the infamous Clínica Raya, to treat his wounds. Learning that El Cacho had survived, the Gulf Cartel ordered a second attack inside the clinic. Gunmen burst into the clinic and shot everyone inside, killing 7 innocent people. El Cacho survived by throwing himself from the bed.

Sources widely agree that this was the first large public display of violence ever conducted by the Gulf Cartel. El Cacho was sent to Monterrey, where he later succumbed to his wounds.

Oscar López Olivares ("El Profe")

Oscar López Olivares ("El Profe") was a trusted enforcer of kingpin Juan Garcia Abrego. 

He told the police and the press that El Cacho went to his house to kill him and that all he did was defend himself. 

Shortly after the attack in the clinic, he fled to Brownsville and hid at the Sheraton Hotel. He was later accepted under the Witness Protection Program. 

He agreed to testify against Juan Garcia Abrego and walk U.S. authorities through the inner workings of the Gulf Cartel. His current status is unknown. 

There is a picture of his Mexican ID card online and it appears to be recent (Google his name). In Mexico he is wanted for the 1984 massacre and attempted homicide.

34 comments:

  1. outstanding job on this report!!

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  2. I wonder if El Profe has any relation to Fito Olivares...he sort of resembles him. I know there’s a Lopez Olivares family in Miguel Aleman where Fito Olivares is from (although born in Camargo)

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    1. They do look alike.
      But most of that olivares family is in Houston now.
      Some people do have current or former narcos but won’t admit that they’re related.

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    2. I wasn't able to find where El Profe was born. All I have is he was a former rural teacher and pilot. He lived in the Colonia San Francisco (Calle Lagunas Palito Blanco). El Cacho lived in Calle Ocampo (between 2nd and 3rd Streets), in front of the clinic.

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    3. @6:09 I’m from Houston and my friend is related to the Lopez Olivares. I think they own some kind of water park, if it’s still there I’m not sure.

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    4. UPDATE: Confirming that El Profe was born in Camargo, Tamaulipas, on 12 August 1942. The ranch was known as Llano Largo and the community was named Ochoa. His parents were Patricio López and Eleuteria Olivares. There might be some connection to Fito Olivares in that case.

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    5. @12:06 wouldn’t surprise me. Thanks for the feed back.

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  3. Looks like we had Snitches before El Chapo and turns out they were from the Gulf Cartel.

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    1. Snitches before El Chapo? Their snitches since the time of Jesus remember Judas. However, you probably would flip the minute they got you by balls crying for your momma from your cell.

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    2. There have always been snitches, smart guy.

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    3. Yea but as with all things. CDS takes everything to new heights! Snitching is the main one.

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    4. All cartels and criminals bosses around the world snitch no one is loyal

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    5. CDS whole foundation and thriving is based on snitching though, from the top down. Look at the Zambadas, snitching on stage in frontof the world. Chapo voluntarily snitching on his enemies to move up smh

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    6. LOL. You fools are something else, acting like criminals have morals. Claiming your child murdering cartels don't snitch. Look at Menchito, ratting out his mom, talkin bout she cheated on her dad with the Lechero.

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  4. Good stuff, MX. Thank you.

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  5. It's not surprising El Profe went under the Witness Protection Program. Hope all catches up to this coward for killing 7 innocent people.

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  6. is this el Profe? https://twitter.com/oscarlopezoliv1

    apparently he was last tweeting in 2014. says he went back to mexico in 96. i wonder what happened to him.

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    1. Pretty darn sure it's him too. His picture is from an Instituto Nacional Electoral (INE) ID card. What's beyond me is why he would upload a picture of him when he testified against powerful people. Maybe someone did this to him and he's not actually the guy behind the scenes. When Juan Garcia Abrego was arrested in January 1996, The Brownsville Herald interviewed El Profe in Brownsville. In 2001, Boletín mexicano de la crisis, Issues 276-286 (Page 32) stated that El Profe was in the U.S. Who knows at this point.

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    2. seems like he's a very eccentric person to say the least lol. anyways i also read the forum chivis y'all do great work! give MX a thumbs up from me, i've been following his work and i agree he is the best researcher.

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  7. Outstanding report, I lived in matamoros, knew Juan and oscar. There was a roomer going around that Cacho was a problem.. your report is right on point. I was not a part of the Cartel, just a citizen. Don Juan did his business, never hurt innocent people. By the way Cacho probably stole one my cars. Tamps. Was peaceful in those days. Terrible now. I live in the U.S. now. I pray Mexico gets its act together, wonderful people.

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    1. Thanks for sharing your story. My family knew Juan and his best friend Líctor Hazael. I've interviewed several people in Matamoros and they've told me El Cacho was eliminated because of his car theft operations. When Jesús Roberto Guerra Velasco became mayor, he didn't want people stealing cars in Matamoros anymore, so he worked with Juan N. Guerra and others to eliminate him. Not sure how much truth there is to this. Thanks for reading.

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    2. El cacho used tell people that he had more balls than juan n guerra and juan garcia abrego put together. Garcia abrego had the vision. He knew what had to be done to get the gulf cartel to operate in the same level of any cartel.el cacho was a rival in power abrego decided to get rid of him. Its simple really.

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    3. Great post MX. I appreciate your work. Very interesting.

      -Pepito

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  8. El cacho had a young nephew that osiel killed because the nephew was saying he was going for the plaza in early 2000's

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    1. Do you happen to remember his name? I sort of remember something similar but I'm not sure if I'm confusing him with a sibling of Baldomero Medina Garza that Salvador "El Chava" Gómez supposedly killed. Thanks in advance.

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    2. His nephew most of been suicidal. Oziel was ruthless and in total control of the gulf cartel by the 2000s.

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  9. Great work man.

    Nice to read articles where the person did his/her research.

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  10. yes remember this story it was big news May 1984..in fact back December 1995 I met Casamiro cahacho JR(his son)...Very friendly he hardly didnt talk about the incident..Until one day i went to house and I saw a picture of his Dad in living room,thats went he told about that day May 17 1984 he was 8 yrs old went all HELL broke lose 7am across street from his house where his dad was in clinic Raya..Cacho JR told me..At time I didnt know what my Dad did,I was little to understand,,As I grew up later I learn more about his actvities,that is why I dont talk about it,BUT he was a good Father who cares for us..Cacho JR looks very much like his Dad,smart Kid and last time I saw him was June 1996

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  11. Thank you for uploading this report, I always like hearing stories from my uncles in matamoros about these topics. Everything from cartel related to funny stories.

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  12. I used to go to school with Oscarín,they lived in valle hermoso el profe tenía una casa de cambio.when un sindico from candido Aguilar burn his house with Oscarín inside he went crazy and kill and hang from a tree the guy then he desapareció for good,nevercome back.he was a Kool guy,we always went ti la presa Vicente Guerrero y la falcón. He is from Miguel aleman

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    1. Thank you for sharing your story. Do you know where I can read more about his son's death (Oscar Arturo López Nieblas) and the guy reportedly responsible for it?

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    2. He has an autobiography but it's filled with boasts. He was doing money laundering in a money exchange and also ran a family bank for farmers. He took a ranch that was inherited through generations from a man that later tried to burn down his house, which killed Oscarin. His wife saw a witch for 9 months later who confirmed who killed his son. Later, Oscar cut out his balls and stuffed it in his mouth. Anyone that lived in his town knew that he did it, but that's when Juan Guerra stepped in and offered him a deal he couldn't refuse, absolute protection from the law.

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