"HEARST" for Borderland Beat
Two highly reputable newspapers reported that El Roque, from Gulf Cartel's Metros, was arrested on Sunday in Tamaulipas.
Its now Tuesday and the government has still not acknowledged that this arrest occurred. Instead they claim just that a couple of vehicles were seized after State Police were ambushed.
This has left some to speculate that Metros paid for Roque to be quietly released.
The Alleged Arrest of El Roque
At approximately 1:00 am on April 2, 2023, two Grupo Reforma newspapers (El Norte and Reforma) published a story claiming that Gulf Cartel’s El Roque had been arrested by authorities.
They write that he was arrested in the border city of Reynosa - an area where Roque is known to operate.
Just to review, Roque Barriga Cruz Fuentes, alias “El Roque”, is a leadership figure within the Gulf Cartel’s Los Metros faction. The overall leader of the Metros faction is César Morfín Morfín, alias “El Primito”, codename "Metro 300".
El Primito has his direct report Carlos Humberto Acuña de los Santos, alias “El Mono”, in charge of controlling the city of Reynosa, which is located within the municipality of the same name.
In turn, El Mono placed El Roque, in charge of the Aquiles Serdán sector of Reynosa.
El Roque, codename Metro 58, was said to have taken over position after the brothers Ernesto Sanchez Rivera, alias "La Mierda" and Héctor Sánchez Rivera, alias “La Mimi”, were ousted from the position - sometime around summer 2022.
The brothers were reportedly removed from power because El Mono began to distrust them, according to Borderland Beat contributors Itzli and Ivan.
Now, almost all details on how Roque was arrested are scant and there are few news outlets outside of Grupo Reforma which reported this occurred.
El Norte and Reforma claim that at approximately 7:00 pm on April 1, state police engaged in a “suprise action” in a northwestern region of the border city of Reynosa, in the Hacienda Las Fuentes neighborhood.
The newspapers acknowledged that there was no official government confirmation of the arrest but they reference police sources who confirmed to them the arrest occurred.
A pickup truck used by Gulf Cartel hitmen was later found crashed in a wooded patch near where Roque was arrested. The newspapers published two images of the pickup truck, shown below.
Firearms and fake military uniforms were reportedly found inside the truck by police officers. The hitmen who crashed the vehicle were presumed to have fled the scene immediately after the crash.
Reforma writes that "In response to the arrest, hitmen created narco road blockades and threw Molotovs in different parts of the city in an attempt to stop the transfer of the detainee [Roque] to the Attorney General's Office (FGR) or to the airport."
"There were even reports of convoys of pickup trucks with hitmen who were attempting to approach official government buildings, such as the FGR."
50 patrol vehicles from either the State Police, National Guards, the FGR, the FGE and the Army were said to have been called in to respond to the violence.
Three additional pickup trucks were reportedly seized from hitmen at various locations throughout the city.
Despite all this reported violence, the local, state and federal government have yet to acknowledge the alleged arrest, nor even the alleged narco blockades.
Instead they released a press release which details only that State Police were attacked by hitmen in Hacienda las Fuentes which led to the seizure of two vehicles.
No detainees, hitmen or otherwise, were mentioned in the press release. This press release and its version of events has been covered by Razón.
It's interesting to note that there may be a law enforcement crackdown going on in Reynosa.
As recently, as covered by Itzli and Ivan, La Mierda was arrested in Reynosa on March 9, 2023. Mierda was a figure who had fallen out of favor with Metros leadership like El Primito and El Mono. The two had reportedly grown to distrust Mierda and his brother Mimi.
The arrest of Mierda may have been seen favorably by Primito and Mono.
It is even possible that some of the law enforcement officers who receive weekly payouts from Primito (police bribery being a very common practice, even more common in border cities) may have been involved in Mierda's arrest.
Then, on March 31, 2023, El Mono allegedly had his own run-in with law enforcement in an incident which almost led to his arrest. News outlets, however, reported the event as a Gulf cartel ambush on state police officers, as seen in this Excelsior article.
Then, just days after the failed attempt to arrest El Mono, one of his direct reports, El Roque was allegedly arrested.
Just now, as this story is being written, new reports are coming out that another Metros figure was arrested and freed yesterday, April 3, in Reynosa.
Reynosa Maldosa reports that an operations manager who works under Raul Leonel Maciel Vazquez, alias "El Raulin", codename Metro 16, was arrested and released. They claim authorities are only reporting the incident as the seizure of one vehicle and one firearm.
This recent series of attempted arrests signals a change in the power dynamics of Reynosa's cartel landscape. The exact change though is unclear.
What is clear, however, is the need for on-ground reporting in Reynosa that goes beyond taking the state government press releases at face value.
Because if someone big is arrested in Reynosa, the Tamaulipas state government will be the last to tell you about it.
Sources: El Norte, Reforma, Primera Vuelta Noticias, Grillonautas, Excelsior, Reynosa Maldosa, Razón
The pic of Roque in the tactical gear .😅😅😅
ReplyDeleteOn Twitter, they were referring to him as "el super atlético comandante Roke". 😂
DeleteThats how imagine Sicario #006 looks in real life
DeleteMeal Team 6
DeleteThis guy should be running the local Burger King. The thought of him attempting to run to escape...LOL
DeleteEl commandante Roke is a Tier 10 Operator from Burger Force highly trained in Taco Fu and Chalupa akido.
DeleteHe is sent on dangerous missions behind enemy lines to eat the contras food supply.
La triple whopper belica
DeleteI thought this was an advertisement for Carnitas Queretaro at first. Gotta admit they look alike.
DeleteI wonder if he carries tamales and Bimbo cupcakes in those pockets..
DeleteAll these comments had me
Delete💀💀💀😂🤣🤣🤣
@ War always breaks out when a dude like this gains power. So fat he's on both sides of the family.
DeleteSe mira que le mete machin al pozole.
ReplyDeleteEl Rouque sure loves to eat tacos con lots of mantequa .
ReplyDeleteEl señor de las tortas
ReplyDeleteEl Culon Mas Gordo
DeleteLike Culiacanzo but the mayor let him out
DeleteMetros ain't no joke.
ReplyDeleteRoque needs at leat two bulle proof vest to put around his heavy frame. That panza is a big target 🎯
I didn’t think Mexican people got that fat. I thought America was only place people were gross over weight like that.
ReplyDeleteMexico passed the United States as the most obese country in the world in the year 2013 according to data from the World Health Organization.
DeleteI googled it because I was curious and it looks like in 2022, America was the tenth most obese country in the world. Mexico was ranked number 27. https://wisevoter.com/country-rankings/most-obese-countries/#tracker_introduction
DeleteWow seriously Hearst??? I actually I am also a coach both in Muay Thai and bodybuilding. And I’m always sharing information with my clients about obesity etc. But I didn’t know that about México being the most obese . Here in New York City you’re always hearing news about bad eating habits within the city and the country. and so I thought we were still number 1.
DeleteHearst I do have a question for you though. I have my own opinion. But I’m always looking to see if it matches with other peoples thinking.
1: Do you think that if México wasn’t in the border with the US that the savagery would still be this high? Do you think that it could be a genetic predisposition? But if so there are other countries in South/Central America that have had Inca and Mayan type cultures and don’t seem to be so aggressive. Do you think it’s the drugs that they are also taking, especially the crystal. Because as a person that used to take adderalls, when I would stop, because it does degrade joints etc. I would be super violent for a few days. That’s why I decided to treat the Attention deficit through other means. But what’s your opinion on that if you care to share.
Thanks again for all the great writing. Hope you and Sol and the other writers are always well.
Rubio NYC
@ 4:08. Bro it dont have nothing to do with genetics. We come from cave men barbarians so we are all animals in a way. The reason mexico is how it is cus of the border with one of the riches most advance country. So theres tons of money to be made with the amricans so cartels have to fight at all cause to keep the billions flowing And not to mention the high level of curruption which makes it easier for cartels to operate how they do
Delete4:08
DeleteRubio, the tendency toward savagery is a HUMAN genetic predisposition. All humans are genetically identical (we're all the same species) and your question belies an understanding of basic science. History is full of savagery in all ages and countries. Peace among "civilized" man is actually rare.
Primates are brutal, sadly. This also includes everything from Australopithecus robustus to present-day humans. This is where free choice comes in, amongst a hundred other factors.
DeleteThe majority of even just the lower income peoples in MX have a horrible diet… just from the lard alone; never mind the countless processed foods and sugars from companies like Bimbo..
Delete@4:08 PM
DeleteHi Rubio
1. I think the violence and brutality in Mexico stems from the extreme competition between drug trafficking groups who are vying for an extremely profitable market. I don’t think it has anything to do with genetics or ethnicity.
2. I think coke and meth can lower a person’s inhibitions so those drugs play a role in increasing the violence.
It's happening in Europe as we speak, torturing, butchering and sending picks to rivals crypto phones. Just on a lesser scale.
DeleteSerbia, Montenegro, Netherlands, Belgium that I know of.
Keep in mind that the population of all of those countries combined is less than Mexico City.
Thank you guys for all your input.
DeleteRubio NYC
Don't believe the lies you learned in school.
DeleteHistory is all lied. We were Tartarian Empire until 1850MUDFLOOD. School is to break your brain and brainwash you. It's called "demoralisation" it takes 20 years per generation
DeleteSee Yuri Bezmenov 4 stages of degeneracy / KGB
Just know, nothing you know of and all you know not of, is what it seems. Tartaria has been erased from our history, but it is all the palaces and cathedrals you see today. They generate electra (atmospheric ether/ Tesla). Don't assume anything about human nature based on history. It's all a Lie, pre-historic times never existed. We do not stem from apes, but from God/ Creator. We are Man, created in the likeness of God. His character turned into the flesh. Bless.
There was never a Tartarian empire.
DeleteWell fact of the matter is, the US of A created the cartels to destroy and destabilize Mexico.
DeleteIts a fact jack!
10:47 that is a bit of an overstatement, yes torture chambers have been found in the Netherlands, but these are huge news and generally very rare. When it comes to liquidations from organized crime, these are worrying in both Belgium and the Netherlands, but overall both countries are on an upwards trend when it comes to public safety.
DeleteJust to be nitpicky, those countries combined are absolutely bigger than CDMX...
@11.43. It isn't an overstatement. The difference in Mexico is that it is put online, either by the mobs or by the authorities, for so many different reasons. You don't need ''torture chambers'' (like that dentist chair in that shipping container) to kill rivals and send that footage to those rivals. It's been going on for a long time in Europe, it just isn't publicised the same way because there is only one audience- the people it is sent to- and if the footage is found by police it isn't leaked.
DeleteI could have swore I read an article about el roque getting kidnapped by rival cartels in last year or 2
ReplyDeletehttp://www.borderlandbeat.com/2021/03/shootout-between-gulf-cartel-factions.html
DeleteLos Escorpiones allegedly got him and released.
11:27:
DeleteThey picked him up but couldn't fit him in the truck.
Did he shop his tactical gear at XXXL suite clothing store? He looks great!! Lol
ReplyDeleteIf the ballistics vest doesn’t stop the bullets, his panza should 😂
ReplyDeleteExclusive info @Hearst: When the Guardia Nacional arrested him and placed him in the back of the police cruiser, the rear suspension snapped
ReplyDelete12:36:
DeleteThey lifted him with a crane and laid him on an equipment trailer to take to the jail.
Plus Sized Sicario
ReplyDeleteAs thick as big boy is and yet he always manages to slip away like a ninja 😎
DeleteI heard he was a professional ballerina. He's quick on them toes.
DeleteCDG (Cartel de Grasa)
ReplyDeleteEl Commandante Ninja Turtle
ReplyDeleteRoque has some good corridos
ReplyDelete2:40:
DeleteBut a lousy diet.
Ladies, there's plenty to go around so let us share El R.
ReplyDeleteCanadian girl 💋
Canada girl likes them Gordito.
DeleteLazca would have had a buffet of El R…
Delete@ Canadian girl. Your just jealous. He purdy, well out of your league.
DeleteObesity is a good thing. It means there's enough good eats to go around. Everybody has a full belly. That's a problem? It sure beats the alternative.
ReplyDeleteTactical fattness.
DeleteEl thyroid 4xL max pro deluxe
ReplyDeleteWhale whale whale, what do we have here?
ReplyDeleteWell Hello driving Ms H
DeleteSorry Hearst or Sol haven't dug up any Avacado stories.
But stay tuned, there's always action going on in Mexico.
In the meantime Hearst is debating weather to travel to Cancun for the summer 🌞.
Now this is narco reporting…
ReplyDeleteI swear, mainstream journalists can learn a thing or two from Team BB… especially YOU, Ms. Hearst! 🦉
Damn right.
DeleteHis middle name is barriga? Thats fucking funny.
ReplyDeleteEl Roque looks like toda la montana.
ReplyDeleteThis dude won't fit on a jail bed lmfao..if he paid his way out they probably just didn't want to deal with his fatass 😂
ReplyDeleteI held air pistol when I was a kid and have shaky hands. But I won’t miss that fat target even my hand shakes violently aiming that one.
ReplyDeleteEl Roque was dubbed the wrong nickname, it should’ve been “La Mierda” since he resembles a 💩. But then again, who wants a badass nickname such as La Mierda. Lmao!
ReplyDeleteYou do.
DeleteNormally, I would condemn fat-shaming people, but in this case, I'll make an exception..this slob is fatter than a Christmas goose, get him off the carbs, switch to maruchan lite, sweat it off in the sauna, run some laps, I dunno what to tell you, obesidad causes a myriad of connected health issues, PLEASE don't view coca-cola as a viable breakfast beveridge..
ReplyDeleteI'm not a doctor, but I did stay at a holiday express last night..🦎
He clearly needs to get on the El Tory fitness plan..
Delete