CDN Leaves Human Head with Message Signed By El Romeo, in Victoria, Tamaulipas

"HEARST" for Borderland Beat 

The Northeast Cartel (Cártel del Noreste, CDN) allegedly left black trash bags containing human remains in the city of Victoria, in Tamaulipas. 

Warning: Graphic images below this point.

The Bags

At approximately 9:40 pm, on Sunday, August 21, 2022, a resident of the López Portillo neighborhood, of the city of Victoria, reported to the emergency phone line the discovery of a bright green narco sign next to a number of suspicious looking garbage bags on Bertha del Avellano Street. 

Before officers arrived on scene, some people filmed a short video, shown below, which depicts the bags and the sign laid out on the sidewalk. 

Video Source: El Guzman

Police eventually did arrive on scene and cordoned off the area while investigators collected evidence. 

The green narco message sign appears to read:

This is how all the thieves and crystal-users will end up in the end. 

From, 

Romeo 

The next day, the newspaper Excelsior that law enforcement agents close to the case had revealed to them that the deceased had been identified as Jorge Rivaldo Castillo Lopez, a 20 year old who lived within the city. 

Castillo Lopez had recently been released from prison, after serving time at a Victoria penitentiary, and had been reported as missing on August 15, 2022, just five days before his remains were found.

Romeo is alleged to be one of the aliases of a CDN group leader named Antonio Romero Sánchez. El Romeo worked as a state police officer, rising to the rank of commander. Valor por Tamaulipeco reports that in July 2020, his superiors sent El Romeo to the city of Mante, in the municipality of the same name as part of an effort to crack down on CDN’s rival the Gulf cartel (Cártel del Golfo, CDG). 

In September 2020, CDG filmed a number of kidnapped CDN men and through their interrogation they outed El Romeo’s ties as a CDN group leader, despite his day job in law enforcement. In response, El Romero was said to have left the force, despite never formally resigning from his position, and he began to work for CDN full time 

In December 2020, state authorities released a wanted poster for El Romeo and announced a 500,000 pesos reward (or approximately $25,00 USD) for information leading to his arrest. 

In the fall of 2021, Romeo and his forces became locked in a deadly back and forth against CDG forces led by Escorpión 75 in a war over the region that stretches between Victoria and El Mante. Very little about the real identity of Escorpión 75 appears online and no photos of him have been found so far.

Of note, most sources allege that the "CDG group" here is a blend of Zetas Vieja Escuela (Zetas Old School) and CDG forces, who work under an alliance in this region and many others.

It appears that CDG forces were more concentrated in El Mante, which CDN was trying to contest, meanwhile CDN forces were more concentrated in Victoria, which CDG was trying to contest. But to be clear, both groups seemed to have hitmen in both municipalities. 

September 14, 2021

A CDG member known by the alias “La Diabla” was filmed being dismembered by CDN members. Her remains were later left in the municipality of Mante along with a narco sign from CDN which called out CDG leaders Escorpión 75 as well as “Rudy and London”. 

September 27, 2021

At the end of September 2021, CDN kidnapped and killed Jared Antonio Samora Míreles, a soldier said to be in charge of the local National Guard barracks. CDN left his severed head and a message sign near the state police headquarters in Victoria. The sign alleged that the deceased was working for CDG.  

Full story here 

October 04, 2021

CDN released a video they filmed before the aforementioned soldier Samora Míreles was killed in which he was interrogated. In it, he says he was personally recruited by Escorpión 75 to work under the CDG two months earlier. He also says that the state police officer Alfredo Escobedo Marin and his sister Nedila Gabriela Escobedo Marin, were working for the CDG. Of note, his sister work for the FGE's regional office on the city of Mante.

He also says another El Mante official, Commander Mauro Camarillo from the ministerial police was colluding with the CDG. 

At the very end of the video, a hitman reads off a message from El Romeo. “Escorpión you bitch! That chrome .38 Super that you have bathed in gold looks pretty cool. I’m going to end up keeping it as a medallion once I capture your bitch ass. Sincerely, Commander Romeo.” 

Full story here 

October 05, 2021

In response, the CDG released their own video in which they questioned two kidnapped CDN hitmen. The hitmen are  interrogated about the identity of the CDN member who organized the killing of the aforementioned La Diabla, killed on September 14. They respond that Alejandra Aluevanos, alias “La Gorda”, from El Mante, was the one who ordered the hit. 

The video ends with a message, which says, in part, “Antonio Romero Sánchez [El Romero] I will come for you in this manner. Therefore, you better watch your back. Remember that it is one world who watches over all […] Sincerely, El 19 of Los Escorpiónes.” 

Full story here

October 07, 2021 

The newspaper El Manana wrote an article covering social media claims that Escorpión 75 had requested a truce with the local CDN group. Video showing alleged screenshots of messages sent by Escorpión 75 are alleged to show him leveraging the fact that he has state police on his side. 

He reminds them of a recent incident in which state police allegedly “arrested” two CDN members and then handed them over to the CDG. It's implied that these two were the same men seen in the October 05 video. He also alleges that another 6 CDN members had been detained by state police, implying that they would be handed over to him if CDN did not come to the table to negotiate. 

October 12, 2021

It seems no truce was achieved. CDN left a dismembered body in El Limón, near El Mante, with a sign that read: “Here we leave another piece of garbage and we will continue cleaning out CDN territories. From, Comandante Romeo, CDN” 

October 18, 2021

CDN released a video interrogation of an alleged CDG member. When asked, he says the plaza boss of El Mante is “[Escorpión] 75, Commander London.” They again name state police commander Alfredo Marin and ministerial police agent Mauro Camarillo as authorities who are colluding with the CDG. The video ends with the text “from Commander Romeo”. 

Full story here

October 26, 2021 

CDN releases another video of captured CDG hitmen. They both name the same authorities that were brought up in the previous video. Both CDG hitmen were later beheaded. 

Full Story Here

Violence continued back and forth between the two groups.

In January 2022, El Manana reported that Officer Escobedo Marin fled town and abandoned his position. Violence then began to lessen although tensions remain high.

There’s something interesting to be said about a police officer who was outed for working for a cartel group, which forced him to have to leave the force. 

One year later, the former police officer turned cartel group leader outs a cop who he says is working for a rival cartel. But that cop retains his position, likely because the cartel group he works for is more politically powerful within the state of Tamaulipas. 

The group leader tries outing him again, the cop keeps his position, then he tries again and again, leaving a bloody trail of dismembered limbs in his wake but each time the cop keeps his position. 

It's interesting to note that the two group only seemed to reach a cease fire, albeit a temporary one, once the dirty cop was finally forced to leave his position and flee the region.

Based on the sign's message, it's likely the deceased is not a CDG member and the tense cease fire between the two groups may continue still. 

But ultimately any region which contains rival cartel leaders, like Escorpion 75 and El Romeo, who lean heavily on violent public displays should be considered a powder keg 

Sources: FGE Wanted Poster, Excelsior, Noticias de México, La Voz del Pueblo, Reynosa Código Rojo, Menny, El Guzman, 9mm Libertad Victoria, VozenRed, Mexico Detail Zero