Gulf Cartel (Cártel del Golfo) Map & Profile 2026: Factions, Leaders, U.S. Charges

What official records and reporting say about the Gulf Cartel: who leads it, where it is reported to operate, and how the U.S. has targeted it. Territory and leadership change fast, so each item links to its source and shows dates as reported. Allegations are as stated by the source; people who are charged are presumed innocent until convicted.

All cartel profiles

Names and aliases

• The organization is known in Spanish as the Cártel del Golfo and in English as the Gulf Cartel, commonly abbreviated CDG. [InSight Crime, 2026-08-07]
• Its current factions are publicly identified as the Scorpions (Escorpiones), the Cyclones (Ciclones), the Metros, the Rojos, and the Panteras. [InSight Crime, 2026-08-07]

Origins

• The Gulf Cartel's origins as a drug trafficking organization date to 1984, when Juan García Ábrego took over his uncle's small marijuana and heroin operation in Tamaulipas. [InSight Crime, 2026-08-07]
• García Ábrego negotiated a deal with Colombia's Cali Cartel, led by the Rodríguez Orejuela brothers, to move cocaine across the Mexican border in exchange for as much as half the profits. [InSight Crime, 2026-08-07]
• By the time of his 1996 extradition, García Ábrego's organization was earning billions of dollars a year and had built a US distribution network stretching from Houston to Atlanta and New York to Los Angeles. [InSight Crime, 2026-08-07]
• García Ábrego was extradited to the United States in January 1996, ending his direct leadership of the cartel. [InSight Crime, 2026-08-07]

Leadership

• On December 16, 2024, the US deported Cárdenas Guillén to Mexico via the San Diego–Tijuana crossing; Mexican authorities immediately re-arrested him and sent him to the Altiplano maximum-security prison on organized crime and money charges. He is presumed innocent of the pending Mexican charges. (as of 2026-09-30) [SRN News (Reuters), 2024-12-16]
• 'La Kena' was among 29 narcotics defendants Mexico transferred to the US on February 27, 2025; a Brownsville federal grand jury had indicted him on February 28, 2024 for cocaine conspiracy and international money laundering tied to 2019–2024 conduct. Evaristo Cruz-Sánchez, alias 'Vaquero,' was transferred the same day on a 2021 indictment alleging meth, cocaine and fentanyl trafficking from 2015–2021. Both are presumed innocent. (as of 2026-09-30) [Texas Border Business (via U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Texas), 2025-03-01]
• Osiel Cárdenas Guillén succeeded García Ábrego and recruited at least 31 former Mexican Special Forces members as his security force; he was captured in 2003 after the US State Department offered a $2 million reward. (as of 2026-09-30) [InSight Crime, 2026-08-07]
• After Cárdenas's 2007 extradition to the US, Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sánchez, alias 'El Coss,' is believed to have run day-to-day operations until his capture in September 2012. (as of 2026-09-30) [InSight Crime, 2026-08-07]
• Antonio Cárdenas Guillén, alias 'Tony Tormenta,' ran the cartel's drug trafficking business until he was gunned down in November 2010. (as of 2026-09-30) [InSight Crime, 2026-08-07]
• Former Gulf Cartel boss Osiel Cárdenas Guillén was released from US custody on August 30, 2024, and then held by US immigration authorities. (as of 2026-09-30) [InSight Crime, 2026-08-07]
• José Alfredo Cárdenas Martínez, alias 'El Contador' and nephew of Osiel Cárdenas, was captured in early 2018 and again in 2019 but released both times for insufficient evidence; the Navy arrested him a third time in 2022, a judge later overturned his detention, and the US DOJ indicted him and requested extradition. He is presumed innocent. (as of 2026-09-30) [InSight Crime, 2026-08-07]
• The Mexican Navy captured José Alberto García Vilano, alias 'La Kena,' a main leader of a Gulf Cartel faction in Matamoros, in January 2024; in February 2025 he was transferred to US custody on drug trafficking and money laundering charges. He is presumed innocent. (as of 2026-09-30) [InSight Crime, 2026-08-07]
• The Gulf Cartel currently has no single leader; its main factions operate autonomously with separate leadership structures in strategic Tamaulipas cities. (as of 2026-09-30) [InSight Crime, 2026-08-07]
• Mario Ramírez Treviño, alias 'X20,' briefly took control after a 2013 succession killing, was arrested in Tamaulipas in August 2013, and remained in a Mexican prison until his death in 2025. (as of 2026-09-30) [InSight Crime, 2026-08-07]
• Succession instability continued after 'El Coss': David Salgado, alias 'Metro 4,' was killed in January 2013; Julián Manuel Loisa Salinas, alias 'El Comandante Toro,' was killed by federal forces in April 2017; and José Antonio Romo López, alias 'La Hamburguesa,' was captured by the Army in May 2017. (as of 2026-09-30) [InSight Crime, 2026-08-07]
• ODNI describes the Gulf Cartel as one of Mexico's oldest cartels, founded in 1984, which fractured after its then-leader was arrested in 2003. (as of 2026-04) [Office of the Director of National Intelligence, 2026-04]

Factions and splits

• Cárdenas's former protection unit of ex-special-forces soldiers broke away and began operating independently as the Zetas, becoming the Gulf Cartel's most violent legacy in Mexico's drug war. (as of 2026-09-30) [InSight Crime, 2026-08-07]
• The Scorpions and the Cyclones are the most powerful current Gulf Cartel factions and have maintained an alliance in recent years to defend against incursions by other Gulf and Zetas offshoots. (as of 2026-09-30) [InSight Crime, 2026-08-07]
• The Scorpions are described as an offshoot of the Gulf Cartel that operates in the Matamoros area of Tamaulipas. (as of 2026-09-30) [InSight Crime, 2023-10-12]

Allies and rivals

• A July 2026 El País investigation linked the Metros faction to a binational fuel-smuggling network in which the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) also allegedly participated. (as of 2026-09-30) [El País, 2026-07-13]
• In April 2010, federal police confirmed an alliance between the Familia Michoacana and the Gulf Cartel against their common rival, the Zetas, who were encroaching on Gulf territory in Tamaulipas. (as of 2026-09-30) [InSight Crime, 2026-08-07]
• Earlier Gulf Cartel alliances collapsed violently: a prison-negotiated pact between Cárdenas and Tijuana Cartel leader Benjamín Arellano Félix lasted about a year before collapsing in 2005, and a temporary territorial division with the Sinaloa Cartel broke down in 2007. (as of 2026-09-30) [InSight Crime, 2026-08-07]

What it does

• Mexico's Attorney General's Office (FGR) identifies the Metros as one of the main parties responsible for 'huachicol fiscal' — fuel smuggled from the US into Mexico disguised as other goods to evade taxes — moving millions of liters through Tamaulipas ports and customs. [El País, 2026-07-13]
• In a September 24–25, 2026 operation against the Metros' fuel network, federal forces seized 13 properties, about 500,000 liters of fuel, 107 tanker trailers, 84 tractors, 2 aircraft, 50 vehicles, 11 fuel pumps, plus methamphetamine, ammunition and cash across Chihuahua, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas. [En Público (citing Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional), 2026-09-28]
• Gulf Cartel factions use their border control to traffic drugs, weapons, and migrants, and run extortion schemes; the Scorpions and Cyclones smuggle migrants and drugs into the US while moving weapons and cash into Mexico. [InSight Crime, 2026-08-07]
• Migrant smuggling is a significant and growing revenue source for Gulf Cartel factions operating from Matamoros, Reynosa and other Tamaulipas border municipalities. [InSight Crime, 2026-08-07]
• The Gulf Cartel runs illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing from Playa Bagdad using fast 'lancha' boats to poach red snapper and shark in US waters; the same vessels are used for drug and migrant smuggling, earning the cartel millions annually. [SRN News (Associated Press), 2024-11-26]
• ODNI says the Gulf Cartel smuggles arms, drugs, fuel and money using hidden vehicle compartments, tunnels and bribery of officials, and is involved in migrant smuggling and trafficking, extortion, money laundering and violence, including assassinating civilians and Mexican government officials. [Office of the Director of National Intelligence, 2026-04]
• A July 13, 2026 El Pais investigation, summarized by InSight Crime, linked Los Metros to a binational fuel-smuggling network in which CJNG also allegedly participated, moving millions of liters of fuel through Tamaulipas ports and customs checkpoints; over 95% of the fuel smuggled by the 10 companies under investigation allegedly entered through Tamaulipas. [InSight Crime]
• The Associated Press reports Cardenas Guillen, a native of Matamoros, moved tons of cocaine and made millions through the Gulf Cartel, based in the border cities of Reynosa and Matamoros. [Associated Press, 2024-12-16]
• Reuters reported that prior to his 2003 capture, Cardenas Guillen presided over hyper-violent tactics including decapitations. [Reuters, 2024-12-16]
• ODNI says the Gulf Cartel smuggles cocaine, heroin, fentanyl and marijuana into the United States. [Office of the Director of National Intelligence, 2026-04]

U.S. designations, sanctions and charges

• On February 6, 2025, Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined the Gulf Cartel met the criteria for designation as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT); the designations took effect February 20, 2025 upon Federal Register publication. [Congressional Research Service (via Congress.gov), 2025-03-01]
• In November 2024, OFAC sanctioned five Gulf Cartel-linked individuals under E.O. 14059 over IUU fishing, human smuggling and narcotics trafficking: brothers Ismael 'Mayelo' and Omar Guerra Salinas (Playa Bagdad operations), Francisco Javier Sierra Angulo 'El Borrado' (identified as cartel chief in Matamoros), and lancha-camp owners Raúl Decuir García and Ildelfonso Carrillo Sapien. [SRN News (Associated Press), 2024-11-26]
• The Gulf Cartel was designated under Executive Order 14059 for contributing to the international proliferation of illicit drugs, and the DEA's 2025 National Drug Threat Assessment includes an overview of the Gulf Cartel among the FTO/SDGT-designated cartels. [U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (via Cannabislaw.report mirror), 2025-05-15]
• The State Department designated the Gulf Cartel as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially Designated Foreign Terrorist entity in February 2025, per ODNI. [Office of the Director of National Intelligence, 2026-04]

Key events

• On February 27, 2025, Mexico transferred 29 wanted narcotics defendants to US custody, including Gulf Cartel figures 'La Kena' and Evaristo Cruz-Sánchez, in one of the largest such handovers. [GlobalSecurity.org (republishing U.S. Department of Justice release), 2025-02-28]
• El País's July 2026 investigation found that of 2.8 billion liters of petroleum-derived lubricants and additives imported since 2019 by 10 companies under investigation for fuel smuggling, nearly 2.7 billion entered through Tamaulipas customs at Tampico, Matamoros, Altamira, Nuevo Laredo and Reynosa; FinCEN flagged hundreds of suspicious activities worth $7 billion in Texas-border cities in one year. [El País, 2026-07-13]
• On September 24–25, 2026, federal forces arrested Jesús Manuel 'N,' alias 'Bebo,' identified by the Defense Ministry as the Gulf Cartel's financial operator for 'huachicol fiscal,' in 19 raids across Chihuahua, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas; he allegedly worked directly under César 'N,' alias 'Primito,' identified as the Metros faction's leader. Both are presumed innocent. [En Público (citing Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional), 2026-09-28]
• El País reported that the Metros allegedly murdered Tamaulipas prosecutor Ernesto Vásquez Reyna in retaliation for a seizure of millions of liters of fuel. [El País, 2026-07-13]
• On March 3, 2023, gunmen abducted four US citizens in Matamoros, Tamaulipas; two of the Americans and a Mexican bystander woman were killed. On March 9, purported Scorpions members left an apology note and turned over five men they alleged were responsible. [InSight Crime, 2023-10-12]
• Tamaulipas prosecutors said March 10, 2023 they had found evidence of the five men's probable participation in the Matamoros kidnappings and murders, though surveillance footage appeared to show at least one additional individual not among those handed over. [InSight Crime, 2023-10-12]
• After the Matamoros kidnapping, several US lawmakers called for Mexican organized crime groups to be labeled foreign terrorist organizations to authorize US military force; Senator Lindsey Graham said, 'We are going to unleash the fury and might of the US against these cartels.' [InSight Crime, 2023-10-12]
• In June 2021, the Scorpions and Cyclones factions were allegedly behind a midday shooting spree in Reynosa, less than 100 km west of Matamoros, that left at least 19 people dead, including shopkeepers, taxi drivers and students. [InSight Crime, 2023-10-12]
• In 2010 and 2011, gunmen kidnapped and murdered 265 undocumented migrants in two separate incidents in San Fernando, Tamaulipas, amid the escalating Gulf Cartel–Zetas conflict after their split. [InSight Crime, 2023-10-12]
• The Mexican Navy captured 'La Kena' in January 2024; he was one of the main leaders of a Gulf Cartel faction in Matamoros and a DEA priority target. [InSight Crime, 2026-08-07]
• The leader of Los Escorpiones was captured by Mexican authorities in January 2024, per ODNI. [Office of the Director of National Intelligence, 2026-04]
• ODNI attributes the August 2025 assassination of a Mexican Attorney General's office delegate in Tamaulipas to Los Metros. [Office of the Director of National Intelligence, 2026-04]

Where it operates in Mexico

• The Gulf Cartel's traditional center of operations is the northeastern border state of Tamaulipas, with its most important strongholds in Matamoros and Reynosa, giving it control over the flow of drugs, weapons and migrants. (as of 2026-09-30) [InSight Crime, 2026-08-07]
• As the group fragmented, its reach narrowed mostly to Tamaulipas, though splinter groups hold limited presence in parts of San Luis Potosí, Nuevo León, Campeche and Quintana Roo. (as of 2026-09-30) [InSight Crime, 2026-08-07]
• The CJNG has expanded into Tamaulipas, threatening Gulf Cartel control of northern municipalities including Miguel Alemán, Camargo, Díaz Ordaz and Reynosa, as well as San Fernando and Victoria. (as of 2026-09-30) [InSight Crime, 2026-08-07]
• ODNI places the Gulf Cartel primarily in Coahuila, Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas, with limited presence in Jalisco and Tabasco, and operations in at least 16 U.S. states. (as of 2026-04) [Office of the Director of National Intelligence, 2026-04]

Reported U.S. footprint

• At its 1990s peak the Gulf Cartel built an extensive US distribution network stretching from Houston to Atlanta and New York to Los Angeles. (as of 2026-09-30) [InSight Crime, 2026-08-07]
• The Gulf Cartel faces significant pressure from US authorities because of its presence along the border and its involvement in drug trafficking and migrant smuggling. (as of 2026-09-30) [InSight Crime, 2026-08-07]

Reported presence by Mexican state

Gulf Cartel in the United States

States with specific evidence: Louisiana, Minnesota, Texas.

Federal cases since 2024 whose release names the group: 5.

Cartels in the U.S.: map and state-by-state evidence →

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• 107 Fuel Tankers, 2 Aircraft, 500,000 Liters Seized: Mexico Arrests ‘El Bebo,’ Alleged Money Man for the Gulf Cartel’s Los Metros Sep 27, 2026
• 13,000 Pounds of Marijuana for Rio Grande Valley Smugglers: Gulf Cartel Lieutenant Gets 12 Years in Texas, a Decade After His Mexico City Arrest Sep 24, 2026
• Reynosa man faces Gulf Cartel support charge in South Texas Sep 21, 2026

Read every Narco Blog story about the Gulf Cartel →

Last reviewed: September 30, 2026. Territory, leadership and advisories change; tell us about errors via our corrections page.