Baltazar Reséndez Cantú, Crucial Figurehead of Tamaulipas Governor Cabeza de Vaca, Captured in the US

"Redlogarythm" for Borderland Beat

Baltazar Higinio Reséndez Cantú being arrested at the McAllen-Reynosa International Bridge

This morning Mexican authorities made public that the Republic's General Prosecutor (FGR) captured Mexican businessman Baltazar Higinio Reséndez Cantú in the border with the US.

According to the available information, the Reynosa-based entrepreneur was captured by US Marshalls in McAllen, Texas, and handed over to the FGR in the McAllen-Reynosa International Bridge. From there he was transferred to the Almoloya de Juárez maximum security prison, in the State of Mexico, where the judge who ordered his capture is based.

Who is Baltazar Higinio Reséndez Cantú?

Reséndez Cantú has been labelled as one of the main front men of Tamaulipas Governor Francisco Javier García Cabeza de Vaca. In fact, he has even been sanctioned by the US FinCen, which accused him of money laundering. 

Nevertheless, Reséndez Cantú is far from being just a mere independent money launderer connected with both Tamaulipas political elites and the obscure world of Mexican organized crime. As Borderland Beat has revealed in an extensive series of investigations about the business empire of the Cabeza de Vaca clan, Baltazar Higinio Reséndez Cantú has played a mayor role both as an intermediary and a strawman for the current Governor of Tamaulipas and his wide range of relatives and associates.

Higinio Reséndez was connected to the Cabeza de Vaca clan through his brother, Esiquio Reséndez Cantú, who in January 2011 was appointed as head of Reynosa's Municipal Potable Water Commission (COMAPA) In fact several of the delegations of Tamaulipas´ COMAPA were used by Cabeza de Vaca and his associates as favors with which to favor relatives of business partners of political allies.

Nonetheless, the relationship between the Cabeza de Clan and Baltazar Higinio Reséndez Cantú dates from the late 1990s. On June 30th 1997, Baltazar incorporated Barca de Reynosa SA de CV. Originally designed as a construction company, Barca de Reynosa has in fact received most of its contracts from PEMEX for the repairment of facilities and the building of installations. Borderland Beat has been able to confirm that the company has received at least 17 different contracts between 2003 and 2006 for a total of 503.36 million pesos.

Then, on November 12th 2011, Baltazar Higinio Reséndez Cantú incorporated another construction company, Inmobiliaria RC de Tamaulipas SA de CV, which has been awarded several contracts by Reynosa´s townhall. Two of these contracts (for the building of a facility attached to the Reynosa Technological University and a Women Center of justice have been labelled) as corruption operations through which the Cabeza de Vaca clan funneled millions of pesos. Neither of the contracts were ever ended, but the money was duly paid by the local Government.

Original signature of Baltazar Higinio Reséndez Cantú accrediting him as unique administrator of Inmobiliaria RC de Tamaulipas SA de CV

Nevertheless, Baltazar Higinio Reséndez Cantú´s biggest role was played in the incorporation and management of Desarrollos Renovables Enerxiza, an apparent energy company incorporated in 2004 for the development of energy projects in the region of Reynosa. In fact the company was controlled by Francisco Javier himself, who used it to buy enormous plots of lands located in an area known as El Cortijo. It was the development of a very carefully staged business operations conceived for the long term. 

In light of the 2013 energy reform -designed, organized and funded with millions of dollars in kickbacks paid by international energy corporations and funneled through PEMEX- Francisco Javier Cabeza de Vaca, back then a legislator in Mexico´s Senate, saw the culmination of his plan. In 2016, the same year he became Governor of Tamaulipas, Spanish energy emporium Acciona announced the building of Mexico´s first privately-operated wind farm, a humongous facility that costed 236 million USD and that was build hand by hand with Desarrollos Renovables Enerxiza, the company apparently owned by Baltazar Higinio Reséndez Cantú but controlled in fact by the Governor and his clique.

The role of Reséndez Cantú became even clearer last May when Mexican authorities made public a list of individuals and companies affiliated to the Cabeza de Vaca´s organization that had been created by American law enforcement agencies. Among the names -the list contained 25 private companies and 12 individuals- were the ones of Baltazar Higinio Reséndez Cantú, Barca de Reynosa SA de CV and Inmobiliaria RC de Tamaulipas SA de CV.

What lies behind the arrest of Baltazar Higinio Reséndez Cantú?

Although 2021 began with an incredible series of blows against the Cabeza de Vaca clan and his empire the situation seems to have reached an impasse. Although the reputation of the Governor of Tamaulipas has suffered a lot and will never recover its initial popularity he has been able to hold the charge. After the Congress of Tamaulipas shielded its fuero by modifying the State´s Constitution what initially appeared to be the beginning of his downfall has turned out to be the ending of the first round between Cabeza de Vaca´s administration and the Federal Government.

Within the framework of this deadlock, the capture of one of Cabeza de Vaca´s most vital financial operatives -not just because of the magnitude of the assets he controls but because of the importance of the secrets he knows- could very easily be a new move of the Federal Government in its offensive against Cabeza de Vaca and his cronies.

Time will tell if the arrest of Baltazar Higinio Reséndez Cantú is just another drop in the ocean of Mexican political scandals or an important action against the network of one of Mexico´s biggest offenders.