h2 Brutal Midday Execution Spurs Crackdown on Fuel Theft in Tamaulipas
h3 The Scene: Avenida Morelos Turns into a War Zone
b Organized crime, not street-level thugs, pulled the trigger. Investigators now name the act as retaliatory punishment for a July fuel bust that sliced millions from cartel profits.
h3 The Sting That Sparked Revenge
h4 What Was Seized
- 475,000 gallons of stolen premium and regular gasoline.
- Fourteen retrofitted tanker trucks, each painted to mimic a national oil company.
- Industrial-grade pumps, plastic tanks, and an entire aluminum pipeline ready for installation beneath rural ranch roads.
h4 Impact on Crime Coffers
Officials label the seizure one of the largest of its kind in northern Mexico—enough fuel, they say, to finance operations, bribe officials, and hire foot soldiers for months. Cartel ledgers seized afterward listed the haul at a street value north of six million U.S. dollars.
h3 Who Rules Reynosa: Meet the Metros
A splinter cell of the historic Gulf Cartel known as Los Metros dominates every crossing point between Reynosa and Hidalgo, Texas. Unlike traditional narcotic routes, these commanders branched into huachicol—local slang for stolen petrol—turning clandestine taps into hard currency without the smuggling risk of cocaine or fentanyl.
h3 Spirals of Violence
h5 Timeline of a City Under Siege
- 2017: Internal split erupts after the arrest of cartel prince Julián “El Toro” Loisa. Body counts rise above three hundred that year.
- May 2023: Five members of regional band Reyno Norteño vanish after a private show; their tortured bodies surface outside a rural bar eight days later.
- November 2023: The U.S. Treasury sanctions eight Metros lieutenants, freezing their American bank accounts and forbidding any U.S. citizen from conducting business with them.
- July 2024: Mammoth fuel seizure.
- This Week: Ernesto Vásquez Reyna executed in daylight.
h4 Ripple Effects
Local gas stations have started rationing fuel after pumps were torched overnight, an unmistakable sign that the cartels are warning Pemex allies. Residents report convoys of Mexican National Guard patrolling with mounted .50-caliber guns, creating gridlock reminiscent of the city’s 2010 narco-battles.
h3 What Comes Next
b Silence from federal officials is deafening—yet analysts predict a surgical sweep targeting Metros bunkers west of the city limits within days.
Until then, shopkeepers pull down rolling gates at dusk, radios crackle with unverified rumors of gunmen on the highway, and one of Mexico’s most lucrative illicit markets has proven again that its thirst for revenge is measured in both fuel and blood.
