Gulf Cartel Cell Leader Antonio Guadalupe ‘Lexus’ Captured

“Sol Prendido” for Borderland Beat

Mexican authorities have captured a reputed Gulf cartel cell leader in the border town of Matamoros.

Antonio Guadalupe N., aka “Lexus,” was wanted on charges of extortion, kidnapping, drug, weapons and migrant trafficking. Mexican soldiers and National Guard members arrested him on Thursday along with eight alleged accomplices, that country’s Public Safety Secretariat said in a statement.

The soldiers seized several high-powered guns, communication equipment and vehicles from the suspects. The Public Safety Secretariat said Lexus is a leader of Ciclones, or Cyclones, one of the groups associated with the Gulf cartel.

All nine individuals have been turned over to the Mexican Attorney General’s Office for prosecution.

U.S. security experts have told Border Report the Gulf cartel has broken up into several gangs, which have divided drug trafficking routes into the U.S. and established boundaries of territories where they conduct other illicit activities like extortion.

The Cyclones and Scorpions reportedly control the greater Matamoros region south of Brownsville, Texas, while Los Metros operate in Reynosa. A faction called Los Rojos allegedly operates south of border areas