SUMMARY
The outbreak of fighting between different drug-trafficking gangs in Mexico can be understood against the background of changes in the Mexican political landscape during the last decades. During the 1980s, there was a loose network of drug smugglers controlling their own "plaza" for drug trafficking. Governmental authority was highly centralized under PRI (Partido Revolucionario Institucional, Institutional Revolutionary Party) rule and by bribing high officials, the drug smugglers could control their businesses without getting interrupted by the authorities. When single-party rule started to give way to local opposition these networks and relationships were transformed, to the advantage of some actors but to the disadvantage of others. The drug cartels started to fight each other for control over territory and previous alliances fell apart.
Since President Felipe Calderon launched his offensive against the drug cartels in 2006, many important leaders have been arrested or killed. However, the elimination of top leaders has not always resulted in less violence and weaker cartels. The previously well-organized, centralized organizations have often experienced in-fighting between groups trying to fill the power vacuum when a prominent leader has been removed. A constant shift of alliances has made the situation in Mexico extremely lethal and hard to handle.
The Gulf Cartel infighting started when Ezequil Cardenas Guillen, alias Tony Tormenta, was killed by the Mexican Navy in November 2010. Tony Tormenta led the Gulf Cartel together with Jorge Costilla-Sanchez, alias El Coss. After his death, two gangs under the Gulf Cartel umbrella started fighting each other; Los Rojos, which was based in Reynosa and loyal to the Cardenas Guillen family, and Los Metros which was based in Matamoros and loyal to Costilla-Sanchez. In September 2011, the situation deteriorated when a Metros leader was killed, allegedly by members of Los Rojos.
The leader Costilla-Sanchez “El Coss” was arrested in September 2012, leaving a power vacuum. Local Gulf leader Mario Armando “Pelón” Ramirez-Treviño sought to take control of the leadership of the Cartel but he was challenged by another local leader, Miguel “El Gringo” Villareal.
In March 2013, fighting erupted in the streets of Reynosa city, Tamaulipas, leaving at least 35 people dead. Villareal was allegedly killed in the battle.
The non-state conflict between the Gulf Cartel - Ramirez Treviño faction and the Gulf Cartel - Villareal faction is first included in UCDP data in 2013. In March of that year fighting in the city of Reynosa resulted in at least 35 battle-related deaths, thus exceeding the threshold of 25 battle-related deaths per calendar year.
