Mexican Border-Region Mayor Announces Fight Against Extortion … City Officials Involved

Amid rising political tensions and violence, the mayor of the border city of Matamoros, Tamaulipas, announced a crackdown against extortion operations tied to organized crime. The announcement sparked much speculation as the extortions in Matamoros are controlled by the Gulf Cartel, and, as first reported by Breitbart Texas, city officials have been directly linked to the operations and have even collected funds on behalf of the criminal organization.

In recent days, Alberto “Beto” Granados announced that his city would work with state, federal, and military authorities to crack down on extortion by organized crime. In various public comments, Granados claimed that extortions have stunted the city’s economic growth and scared away foreign investment.

The claims by Granados have been welcomed by some businessmen but also met with much incredulity by others due to the widespread corruption and cartel ties between city officials and the Gulf Cartel.

The announcement of the new operation comes in the aftermath of a high-profile arrest, where, as Breitbart Texas reported, authorities in the state of Jalisco arrested the mayor of the city of Tequila on extortion and kidnapping charges. In Tequila, the city mayor and some of his closest staff members had been using city policies and other measures to extort numerous businesses, including liquor and beer makers. In that city, public officials would flaunt their ties to the terrorist Cartel Jalisco New Generation as a way to pressure business oweners in to paying the extortion fees; some of the money from those fees was later funneled into the drug cartel.

Breitbart Texas has reported on a series of extortion schemes in Matamoros that are similar to the ones outed in Tequila. In a 2023 report, Breitbart Texas revealed how city officials in Matamoros were extorting business owners for fees to the Gulf Cartel. In some cases reported by Breitbart, the fees had to be paid in cash, and city officials would provide business owners with a receipt for tax purposes that disguised the true nature of the extortion.