Mexican security agents arrested this Tuesday in the state of Tamaulipas (northeast) José Ignacio 'N', one of the leaders of the criminal organization Gulf Cartel, who had an arrest warrant in the United States on drug-related charges. Through a press release, the Mexican Security Cabinet reported that the detainee was a financial operator and one of the leaders of the Gulf Cartel, a criminal organization linked to cases of kidnapping, extortion, homicide, attacks on authorities, and drug, human, and arms trafficking to the United States. He was arrested in an operation in which agents seized two long-barreled weapons, a magazine, and more than 100 cartridges. Investigators accuse him of being the head of the criminal group's Scorpions and Cyclones cells, dedicated to criminal activities such as kidnapping, extortion, and drug trafficking. He also had an arrest warrant in the Southern District of Texas (USA) for conspiracy, distribution, and drug smuggling, as well as for operating a criminal enterprise. Official sources confirmed to EFE that the detainee is José Ignacio Vega Ruiz, 49, known as 'Nacho Vega', one of the leaders of the 'Gulf Cartel' and a financial operator in charge of money laundering, and drug and human trafficking to the United States of America. He is considered a fugitive from U.S. authorities, with an active arrest warrant from the Southern District of Texas. In addition, he is linked to arms trafficking from the United States to Mexico. They detailed that in 2023, 'Nacho Vega' was accused in the Southern District of Texas, United States, for the importation, distribution, and smuggling of several drug shipments from Mexico to the United States, subsequently, he was accused of conspiracy to import and distribute narcotics to the United States and managing a criminal enterprise. 'He is currently being investigated by the United States for drug and arms trafficking. He is the brother-in-law of José Alfredo Cárdenas Martínez, alias 'The Accountant'', the sources detailed. The security forces operation was led by personnel from the Attorney General's Office's Criminal Investigation Agency (FGR), as well as the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC), the Secretariat of National Defense (Defense), the National Guard (GN), and the Secretariat of the Navy (Semar). The detainee was placed at the disposal of an FGR agent, who will be in charge of defining his legal situation. 'With these actions, the Security Cabinet reaffirms its commitment to strengthen international cooperation and work in a coordinated manner to combat arms, drug, and human trafficking that affect the security between both nations,' the informative note concluded. The Gulf Cartel was designated by the Donald Trump administration as a foreign terrorist organization last February, along with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, the Sinaloa Cartel, the Northeast Cartel, the Michoacán Family, and the United Cartels.
