Gulf Cartel (Cartel del Golfo)

The Gulf Cartel is one of Mexico’s oldest criminal groups, but it no longer operates as a unified organization. It is divided into rival factions that have lost territory and influence, although they still control strategic areas of Tamaulipas, particularly the border cities of Matamoros and Reynosa. The Scorpions and the Cyclones are the most powerful factions. From the border, these groups smuggle migrants and drugs into the United States, move weapons and cash into Mexico, and operate complex extortion schemes.

In this Profile:

What Is the History of the Gulf Cartel?

The Gulf Cartel’s origins date back to 1984, when Juan García Ábrego took control of his uncle’s drug trafficking business, which at the time was a relatively small marijuana and heroin operation. García negotiated an agreement with the Cali Cartel, a major Colombian criminal organization seeking new trafficking routes into the US market after a US crackdown disrupted its Caribbean routes. From a business standpoint, the deal was irresistible to both the Cali Cartel’s leaders, the Rodríguez Orejuela brothers, and the Mexicans: García Ábrego would handle cocaine shipments across the Mexican border, assuming all the risks, in exchange for as much as 50% of the profits.

By the time García Ábrego was extradited to the United States in January 1996, the Gulf Cartel was earning billions of dollars in cash annually, which then had to be transported back across the border to its owners in suitcases, private jets, and underground tunnels. The drug trafficking organization had built an extensive distribution network in the United States, stretching from Houston to Atlanta and from New York to Los Angeles.

Other drug lords, such as Amado Carrillo Fuentes, alias “El Señor de los Cielos,” head of the Juárez Cartel, soon followed García Ábrego’s lead and began demanding greater control over distribution from their Colombian partners, rather than settling for the income they received for transportation services. As a result, by the late 1990s, Mexican traffickers had built a series of cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin distribution networks that rivaled the Cali Cartel in size, sophistication, and revenue. They would also soon rival their Colombian counterparts in political influence, bribing collaborators in government, cabinet ministers, members of the federal police, and even officials from the Attorney General’s Office (Procuraduría General de la República — PGR), now known as the Federal Attorney General’s Office (Fiscalía General de la República — FGR).

But it was García Ábrego’s successor, Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, who developed the Gulf Cartel’s military wing in ways the Cali and Medellín cartels had never imagined. Cárdenas recruited at least 31 former members of Mexico’s Special Forces to serve as security personnel, paying them as much as three times what they had earned in the military. They were expert snipers and trained in the use of weapons that, at the time, were inaccessible to most rival drug traffickers. They were also capable of rapidly deploying operations in almost any environment, making them a perfect fit for Cárdenas’ more confrontational and brutal leadership style. He was captured in 2003 after the US State Department offered a $2 million reward for his capture. But his former protection unit, which soon began operating as an independent group under the name the Zetas, became the Gulf Cartel’s bloodiest legacy in Mexico’s drug war.

Today, the Gulf Cartel no longer exists as a unified organization. The group has splintered into numerous factions, each competing for control of various criminal economies along the Tamaulipas border and in other states in eastern Mexico. These factions include the Cyclones, the Scorpions, the Rojos, the Metros, and the Panteras. They use their control of the border to traffic drugs, weapons, and migrants, among other criminal activities. Although the Scorpions and the Cyclones hold most of the power, the Gulf Cartel’s golden era under García Ábrego is long gone.

Who Are the Leaders of the Gulf Cartel?

Following Cárdenas’ extradition to the United States in 2007, Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sánchez, alias “El Coss,” is believed to have controlled the group’s day-to-day operations until his capture in September 2012. Cárdenas’ brother, Antonio Cárdenas Guillén, alias “Tony Tormenta,” ran the cartel’s drug trafficking business until he was gunned down in November 2010.

El Coss’ arrest left the group without a clear successor, ushering in a period of instability at the top of the organization.

In January 2013, David Salgado, alias “Metro 4,” one of the candidates to succeed El Coss, was killed by unknown assailants.

Mario Ramírez Treviño, alias “X20,” a hitman and internal rival of Salgado, briefly took control of the organization after the killing. Ramírez Treviño was arrested in the state of Tamaulipas in August 2013 and remained in a Mexican prison until his death in 2025. As with the captures of other top leaders, his arrest left a power vacuum in the increasingly fragmented group.

Shortly after X20’s arrest, Julián Manuel Loisa Salinas, alias “El Comandante Toro,” took over and commanded a group of hitmen in the border city of Reynosa, a traditional Gulf Cartel stronghold in Tamaulipas. But Loisa Salinas was killed by Mexican federal forces in April 2017. In May of that year, the Mexican army captured another Gulf Cartel leader, José Antonio Romo López, alias “La Hamburguesa,” once again leaving the group without clear leadership.

José Alfredo Cárdenas Martínez, alias “El Contador,” the nephew of former cartel boss Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, was the only leader who remained. But his leadership was also quickly disrupted by authorities. Mexican security forces captured him in early 2018 and again in 2019, but he was released on both occasions after a judge found there was insufficient evidence to charge him. In 2022, the Navy arrested him for a third time. However, a judge later overturned his pretrial detention and ordered his release. The US Department of Justice subsequently indicted him on drug trafficking charges and formally requested his extradition.

The volatility of the group’s leadership went hand in hand with its fragmentation. To project its influence and cover territory, the Gulf Cartel turned to alliances with local groups. Amid pressure from authorities, leadership vacuums, and persistent violence, these local groups gained independence and maintained control over illicit economies.

Today, the group’s leadership remains unclear, as fragmentation has made its leaders increasingly difficult to identify. In January 2024, the Mexican Navy captured José Alberto García Vilano, alias “La Kena,” one of the main leaders of a Gulf Cartel faction in Matamoros. In February 2025, he was transferred to US custody to face drug trafficking and money laundering charges. US and Mexican authorities identified Armando López Garcés, alias “El Pajarito,” as one of his possible successors.

The Gulf Cartel’s notorious former leader, Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, was released in the United States on August 30, 2024. In December of that year, he was deported to Mexico and imprisoned at the Altiplano maximum-security prison to face pending proceedings for organized crime and other offenses. So far, his return has not altered the Gulf Cartel’s fragmented structure.

Where Does the Gulf Cartel Operate?

The Gulf Cartel’s traditional center of operations has been the northeastern border state of Tamaulipas, with its most important strongholds in Matamoros and Reynosa. Control of these areas is crucial from both an operational and financial standpoint, as it allows the group to control the flow of drugs, weapons, and migrants.

As the group has fragmented, its reach within Mexico has become more limited, with its factions based primarily in Tamaulipas. However, some splinter groups are also present in parts of San Luis Potosí, Nuevo León, Campeche, and Quintana Roo, although they have a very limited presence elsewhere in Mexico.

In recent years, the CJNG has expanded into Tamaulipas and threatened the Gulf Cartel’s control of key municipalities in the northern part of the state, including Miguel Alemán, Camargo, Díaz Ordaz, and Reynosa, as well as San Fernando and Victoria.

Who Are the Gulf Cartel’s Allies and Enemies?

In April 2010, federal police confirmed the existence of an alliance between the Familia Michoacana and the Gulf Cartel against their common rival, the Zetas, which had been aggressively encroaching on the Gulf Cartel’s traditional stronghold in Tamaulipas.

For observers of organized crime in Mexico, this came as no surprise. The Gulf Cartel has a violent history of former allies turning against it. An earlier alliance, negotiated in prison between Cárdenas and Benjamín Arellano Félix, one of the leaders of the Tijuana Cartel, lasted about a year before collapsing in 2005, triggering another wave of killings along the border. A temporary division of territory with the Sinaloa Cartel also broke down in 2007, with consequences felt across the country.

Today, factions of the Gulf Cartel and the Zetas frequently engage in open warfare in Tamaulipas. The numerous groups are constantly forming shifting alliances and developing new rivalries, making it difficult to discern the leadership structures of each group. That said, the Scorpions and the Cyclones have maintained an alliance in recent years to defend themselves against incursions by other offshoots of both the Gulf Cartel and the Zetas. The CJNG’s attempt to expand into the area has raised fears of further violence as it confronts the Gulf Cartel and the Zetas.

However, the reality on the ground is less clear. While some analysts and security experts believe a CJNG incursion into Tamaulipas is almost inevitable, despite the Gulf Cartel’s deep historical roots in the area, others say the situation is more nuanced and caution that the local group almost always has the upper hand.

What Lies Ahead for the Gulf Cartel?

The Gulf Cartel is a far cry from the organization it once was. However, despite being highly fractured and divided, it still retains significant power and control.

Although figures linked to the Cárdenas family have retained influence within some factions, the Gulf Cartel has no single command structure, and its factions operate with a high degree of autonomy.

The Gulf Cartel also faces significant pressure from US authorities because of its presence along the border and its involvement in drug trafficking and migrant smuggling.

In February 2025, the US State Department designated it a foreign terrorist organization, expanding the legal and financial tools available to target its members and support networks.