Gulf Cartel

The Gulf Cartel (Spanish: Cártel del Golfo [ˈkaɾtel ðel ˈɣolfo], or Golfos) is a criminal syndicate, drug trafficking organization, and U.S.-designated terrorist organization, which is perhaps one of the oldest organized crime groups in Mexico. It is currently based in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, directly across the U.S. border from Brownsville, Texas.

Their network is international, and is believed to have dealings with crime groups in Europe, West Africa, Asia, Central America, South America, and the United States. Besides drug trafficking, the Gulf Cartel operates through protection rackets, assassinations, kidnappings, and other criminal activities. The members of the Gulf Cartel are known for intimidating the population and for being particularly violent.

Although its founder Juan Nepomuceno Guerra smuggled alcohol in large quantities to the United States during the Prohibition era as well as heroin, it was not until the 1980s that the cartel shifted to trafficking cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana under the command of Nepomuceno Guerra and Juan García Ábrego.

History

Foundation: 1930s

The Gulf Cartel, a drug cartel based in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico, was founded in the 1930s by Juan Nepomuceno Guerra. Originally known as the Matamoros Cartel (Spanish: Cártel de Matamoros), the Gulf Cartel initially smuggled alcohol and other illegal goods into the U.S. Once the Prohibition era ended, the criminal group controlled gambling houses, prostitution rings, a car theft network, and other illegal smuggling. It grew significantly in the 1970s under the leadership of kingpin Juan García Ábrego.

García Ábrego era (1980s–1990s)

By the 1980s, García Ábrego began incorporating cocaine into the drug trafficking operations and started to have the upper hand on what was now considered the Gulf Cartel, the greatest criminal dynasty in the US-Mexico border.