Matamoros, Tamaulipas: Gulf Cartel Narco Banner Accuses Military Commander of Breaking Agreement

By “El Huaso” for Borderland Beat

A narco banner accusing a military commander of breaking a pact was hung from a bridge in Matamoros, Tamaulipas today. The message coincides with the visit of Tamaulipas Governor Américo Villarreal Anaya to Matamoros.

The message stated:

Lieutenant Colonel César Alfonso Giner Jiménez fulfill what was agreed and answer the phone.

You promised the people a peace without seizures or patrols (unclear) calm your dogs down and return what was taken.

Signed (unclear – possibly La Empresa)

While the banners signatory is unclear, the banner was most likely left by Los Escorpiones or Ciclones, the Gulf Cartel factions who control the region of Tamaulipas east of Rio Bravo, including the city of Matamoros. The city of Reynosa is controlled by rival faction Los Metros, who joined the CJNG in 2023.

Lieutenant Colonel César Alfonso Giner Jiménez, is the second in command of the Matamoros army garrison.

The banner may reference the August 31 seizure of 164,000 liters of fuel, 47 tank trucks, and three tractor-trailers from a property in Matamoros, the latest of several fuel theft busts in the Tamaulipas border region of the last few weeks which the Mexican army executed. Two months before that, seven were arrested at a property allegedly used as a logistics center for the storage of stolen fuel. Authorities also seized 66,500 liters of fuel, 27 tank trucks, 10 tractor trucks, 12 storage tanks (frac tanks), four motor pumps, high-pressure hoses and an air compressor.