Cartel X Assumes Responsibility for Attempted Murder Against Tamaulipas State Investigator

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

Yaneth Gallardo Florencia's Jeep was armored-equipped but had not received maintenance since the governorship of Eugenio Hernandez Flores (2004–2010). 

Yaneth Gallardo Florencia, an agent of the Public Ministry Department in Tamaulipas, was shot and nearly killed after suspected member of the Cartel X and/or Los Xs shot her. This criminal group is a spin-off cell made up of former members of the Zetas Vieja Escuela (ZVE) and Northeast Cartel (CDN).

The first reports of gunfire came at 5:40 p.m. on Saturday, when the agent was at a nail salon called Cherry Nails Estética, located on Olivia Ramírez street in Ciudad Victoria, the state capital.

When trying to get into her white truck, Gallardo Florencia was shot several times; one on the left side of the jaw and others on the thorax. She was taken to the hospital and was reported in serious condition.

This information was confirmed by the Tamaulipas State Attorney General's Office (FGJET), which has already started an investigation to find those responsible for this attack.

“The Attorney General's Office of the State of Tamaulipas reports that an investigation was opened for the attack registered against an agent of the Public Ministry, which occurred in Ciudad Victoria. At this moment, all the necessary actions are being carried out to determine the way in which the events occurred, find those responsible and bring them to justice,” said the agency.

Citizen journalists in Tamaulipas say that Gallardo Florencia was notorious for "fabricating" cases against people and of having ties to drug cartels.

One account says that she had a working relationship with Octavio Leal Moncada, the leader of the Tamaulipas self-defense group called "Columna Armada". Over the years, several citizen journalists have claimed that Leal Moncada has ties with the Gulf Cartel and that he once worked under legendary drug kingpin Osiel Cardenas Guillen.

Another account says that she also has ties to Juan José Contreras Castillo. He is the current mayor of Hidalgo Municipality, Tamaulipas, and an attorney who reportedly advises Leal Moncada.

Throughout her career, she received several death threats for her work against cartels. Gallardo Florencia was one of the lead prosecutors in a case framing several members of the CDN. In addition, Cartel X boss Mario Otoniel Garza Mendez (alias "Tony Mendez") threatened to kill her. He was arrested in March 2021 but reportedly continues to lead the cartel through envoys.

The culprits

The Cartel X is fighting the ZVE, CDN, and various Gulf Cartel (CDG) factions for control of Tamaulipas, particularly Ciudad Victoria. Cartel X started off in meth sales but they later got involved in extortion, kidnappings, and gangland attacks.

Borderland Beat reported last July that cartel members set fire to three Grupo Bimbo trucks and attacked their facilities with firearms after the company refused to extortion money. Investigators later found out that this attack was carried out by Cartel X and that many of them were minors.

Cartel X have a strong presence in Chihuahua and have smuggled narcotics to the U.S. through the El Paso–Juárez corridor with the assistance of local smugglers. They also sell drugs in Chihuahua in black plastic bags marked with the letter X.

Reports have mentioned they have ties to La Linea, the former armed wing of the old Juarez Cartel, and with Gente Nueva, a cell of the Sinaloa Cartel.

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Citizen journalist says that Gallardo Florencia was supposed to have assigned bodyguards, but that state officials Olegario Contreras Macia and Ivan Fernando Contreras (cousin of the former) removed them.

Sources: Infobae; Epocaviolenta; (2); (3); Valor por Tamaulipas; MexNoticias