Mexican raided a video surveillance center run by the Gulf Cartel ran a video surveillance center in the border city of Matamoros, Tamaulipas. That city is known for widespread corruption at the highest levels, with top city officials protecting the criminal organization, as revealed by Breitbart Texas in 2023.
Over the weekend, the Tamaulipas State Police and the Tamaulipas Attorney General’s Office raided an office run by the Gulf Cartel. Several computer monitors ran video feeds inside that office from clandestine surveillance cameras set up along the city’s main avenues and intersections. The monitoring center was used to track the movements of police and military forces and coordinate the movements of cartel operators.
During the raid, authorities dismantled six surveillance cameras in key intersections. However, law enforcement sources revealed to Breitbart Texas that they are still trying to find several similar surveillance centers and cameras throughout the city.
As Breitbart Texas previously reported, the Gulf Cartel has a long history of setting up video surveillance centers in their key border cities, such as Reynosa and Matamoros. These centers usually have video equipment and clandestine communication networks that the criminal organization uses to coordinate their actions.
In the city of Matamoros, the Gulf Cartel has a long history of operating with almost complete impunity due largely to its deep connections with top city officials. In 2023, Breitbart Texas exclusively exposed that one of the top officials in the city’s Civil Protection department was a long-time Gulf Cartel member known as El Polaris, who had spent years in prison for leading a kidnapping cell for the criminal organization. This revelation came at a time when authorities at the federal and state level had been investigating the kidnapping of four U.S. citizens, where two of them died. One of the key revelations during the investigation was that the Gulf Cartel was able to use City of Matamoros ambulances to move covertly the victims.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at
