"Morogris" for Borderland Beat
Tomas Yarrington Ruvalcaba was born in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, the bastion of the Gulf Cartel. He was served as Mayor of Matamoros from 1993 to 1995, before he ran for Governor of Tamaulipas. |
Tomás Yarrington Ruvalcaba, the former Governor of the border state of Tamaulipas, is set to be released from prison on November 2024 instead of December 2025. His early release is attributed to the time he has already served while incarcerated in Italy. Yarrington is currently held at the Federal Correctional Institution in Thomson, Illinois (FCI Thomson).
As Yarrington lacks U.S. citizenship, his release will likely result in deportation to Mexico. Presently, there is no indication of any impending alteration in his legal status or a prospect for him to remain in the U.S. under witness protection.
In Mexico, Yarrington faces numerous charges, including money laundering and drug trafficking. Following the typical procedure for high-profile deportations, it is anticipated that Mexican authorities will promptly re-arrest Yarrington upon his release at an international port of entry.
Background
Yarrington was the Governor of Tamaulipas from 1999 to 2005, and an aspiring presidential candidate in the 2006 elections. During his governorship, he was accused of protecting the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas by taking millions in bribes. Among his formal charges include racketeering, drug trafficking, money laundering and bank fraud. After fleeing Mexico, Yarrington was arrested in Florence, Italy, in 2017 and extradited to the U.S. the following year.
In 2021, Yarrington pleaded guilty and said he accepted $3.5 million in illegal bribe money and used it fraudulently to purchase multiple assets, including airplanes, a South Padre Island condo, a residence in Port Isabel, homes in McAllen and an Austin suburb and a partial ownership in a planned mixed-use development off La Cantera Parkway in San Antonio.
Inmate profile of Tomas Yarrington Ruvalcaba through the US Bureau of Prisons (BOP). |
As part of the plea, Yarrington also detailed how he accepted bribes from individuals and private companies in Mexico to do business with the state of Tamaulipas while he served as governor. This plea, however, meant that his alleged crimes that directly tied him to Mexican cartels were dropped. He was sentenced to nine (9) years in prison in March 2023.
Originally, Yarrington faced up to life in prison if he had been convicted of the racketeering or drug trafficking conspiracy charges the U.S. government leveled against him eight years ago.
In more than 15,000 digital documents consisting of 100,000 pages, US investigators detailed how Yarrington took bribes from the Gulf Cartel, Los Zetas, and the Beltran Leyva Cartel, and actively participated in drug trafficking operations. Authorities from multiple law enforcement agencies had pictures, information about warrants, seizures, and protected witness testimonies framing him as a top cartel figure.
Borderland Beat records show that Yarrington was a key figure in the Gulf Cartel's ascension as one of Mexico's leading criminal groups in the late 1990s and early 2000s. During that era, the cartel was headed by kingpin Osiel Cárdenas Guillén. US prosecutors walked away from the allegations and dismissed these serious charges after Yarrington pleaded guilty.
Cardenas Guillen will be released from prison in August of this year.
Sources: Milenio (registration required); El Universal; Borderland Beat archives
According to some locals in Chiapas. CDS and CJNG went at it 7 hours while other claim it was actually 3 days
ReplyDeletehttps://youtu.be/4CTBeDDcziE?si=Ar13yAnstyYzZDXF
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WT Hell this is not related to Yarrinnton. 🐱
DeletePerfect case of “con dinero baila el chango.” This is what money so for when you are a criminal… to not serve a life sentence.
ReplyDeletehttps://youtu.be/kSKCUwW98p0?si=VSme2OI1iX3fIVnk
ReplyDeleteGusgri interview with the zeta guy was re-uploaded. It is brutal. It'll be awesome if you could make a transcript of their conversation
Is this guy legit? The recent guy who uploaded videos of his experience as a Zeta who deleted them all was indeed El Chocotorro. But this guy has his face covered so how would we know?
DeleteA post about El Chocotorro will be up soon.
Delete9:37 he's legit. The original video was taken down because the Zetas kidnapped his mom for giving too many details about their prison operations (like leaving prison on their buses dressed as prison guards to kidnap rivals).
DeleteWhat a joke, if America really want to help mexico, guys like him would die in prision.
ReplyDeleteShame on you America.
Shame on Obrador for letting Cartels roam the Country of Mexico with impunity.
DeleteShame on both nations for letting this drug abd corruption get out of hand
DeleteAfter all the suffering he caused, including helping form a group like Los Zetas and consolidating the CDG under Osiel when the group was weakened post JGA's arrest... and he will be let loose. What a joke. This war on drugs in a complete failure.
ReplyDeleteDrugs are winning this war
DeleteOsiel will be out... and then Yarrington. Interesting.
ReplyDeleteYarrington sounds English, but he is not a U.S. citizen. The bribes occurred in Mexico, not sure why America gets away with prosecuting crimes that happen in other country. Mexico did not prosecute, so why should America.
ReplyDeleteHe laundered money in the US.... so crimes occurred in the US too....
Delete10:03 with that paternal last name, Yarrington, don't be surprised if this guy ends up a USA citizen through a derivative citizenship claim.
DeleteWith money the dog dances without money you dance like a dog in the usa the ounce seller gets 5 years in prison, the kilo seller gets 15 to to 25 and the tons seller gets witnnes protection, citizenship and gets to enjoy its illicit richness in america
ReplyDeletePost Sentence reduction for cooperation is my guess
ReplyDeleteLet's see if he is arrested at the border like guero palma or the arellano brother....between the 3 who hurt Mexican the most...
ReplyDeleteArellano Félix y Yarrington. Ahí se dan. Pero yo diría que Yarrington porque ayudo a crear unidad entre el CDG de Osiel y los Zetas cuando empezaron.
DeleteThose Mexican governors are just puppets for the USA.
ReplyDeleteThey sell their soul, steal everything they can, are involved in illegal businesses and placed by cartels.
They go to see a judge in the USA and get a pat on the back for fucking over their own people.
At the end of the day it's Mexican business anyway right..
I WANT TO SEE A DAY WHEN THESE CROOKS GET LIFE FOR TRAITORS TO THE MEXICAN NATION !!!
When I was in high school in Matamoros and Yarrington was the Municipal President,or Mayor of you will, some young guys claimed they were very close to him. They were lovers. At that time in Matamoros there were several gay guys that "committed suicide" in different motels at different times. Supposedly those were the guys that were having fun with Yarrington. Around that time was when Osiel started getting big. Cavazos Lerma was the Governor
ReplyDeleteHello - Can you email me? I know of the case too. Yarrington reportedly had a male lover, or at least that's what people in Matamoros said. They said they would always see him with a certain man (I have his name but will conceal it for now). He was found dead at a hotel. This was during precampaña if my memory doesn't fail me.
Deleteanonymous.mxoline@protonmail.com
9 years wow. What a punishment.
ReplyDeleteI called it n onother article from BB.
ReplyDeleteHe would get a slap on the wrist and a pat on the back. Same shit different crooked governor, they all get lenient sentences