Los Zetas Cartel Boss Was a Mexico Top Cop; Authorities Are Now Looking for Him
Aerial view of forensic experts from the Attorney General's Office carry out search works for skeletal remains at a clandestine grave in a property called "La Bartolina" in the border city of Matamoros, Tamaulipas state, Mexico on August 23, 2021. - Half a ton of human remains have been found since 2017 in La Bartolina. ALFREDO ESTRELLA/AFP via Getty Images

A Los Zetas cartel boss is also reportedly working as a cop in Mexico tasked with restoring peace in the southern part of Tamaulipas.

Antonio Romero Sanchez, a border state police officer in Mexico, is known in the criminal underworld as "Comandante Romeo" of the Cartel Del Noreste (CDN) faction of Los Zetas cartel, Breitbart reported.

Romero Sanchez reportedly became a top-level fugitive in Mexico, linked to a lot of executions in the southern and central parts of Tamaulipas state when his true identity was uncovered.

According to the Breitbart report, authorities are now offering a reward for his capture. State authorities reportedly offer 500,000 pesos or around $25,000 (USD) for information leading to his capture.

Sources told Breitbart Texas that Romero Sanchez was indeed "Comandante Romeo," a piece of information that remained unconfirmed until now.

Romero Sanchez was ordered in July to take his police team to Ciudad Mante in Tamaulipas to address an apparent rise in drug cartel violence.

Since then, state police forces have had many clashes with Gulf Cartel gunmen, who are the rivals of the CDN faction of the Los Zetas cartel.

Romero Sanchez's team has successfully arrested numerous members of the Gulf Cartel. But in September, a series of cartel videos exposed his criminal ties to the Los Zetas cartel.

Gulf Cartel gunmen, who had captured several CDN-Los Zetas members, recorded the videos. As the Gulf Cartel gunmen interrogated them, CDN-Los Zetas cartel members revealed that they had the support of Romeo Sanchez in the area.

Romeo Sanchez reportedly left the Tamaulipas State Police without formally resigning since the videos surfaced. Sources told Breitbart that the long-time police officer has been operating for the CDN-Los Zetas cartel full time.

Drug Cartel Violence in Mexico's Tamaulipas

The U.S. State Department urged Americans in June to avoid travel to Tamaulipas in Mexico due to drug cartel violence in Reynosa, according to a Border Report release.

A series of attacks on June 19 had set off red flags since innocent people were targeted at random. Up to 13 people allegedly involved in the killings of 15 civilians were arrested, with a man identified as Ivan Alejandro N. being among those arrested.

The Tamaulipas state police said Ivan Alejandro was a reputed leader of a Gulf cartel cell. A U.S. security expert said the attacks appeared to be the result of a fight inside the Gulf cartel to control the flow of drugs and migrants north, as well as guns and cash south in the Reynosa corridor.

Scott Stewart, vice president of intelligence at TorchStone Global, noted that there had been a pitched battle for Reynosa, which is not as lucrative as Nuevo Laredo, but it's worth a lot of money for whoever holds it.

Steward said people continue to talk of the Gulf cartel as a single organization. But he noted that it was not since it was "badly splintered" and now a network of smaller, competing regional groups.

The Los Zetas Cartel

The Los Zetas cartel started as the enforcement arm of drug-trafficking Gulf Cartel and had broken away as an independent criminal enterprise in 2010. The Los Zetas cartel is known for its violent tactics and strong organizational structure, according to Britannica.

Osiel Cardenas Guillen, who was competing for leadership of the Gulf Cartel, recruited about 30 former members of Mexico's special forces led by Lieutenant Arturo Guzman Decena. This group formed the core of the Los Zetas cartel.

After Cardenas Guillen's arrest in 2003, the Los Zetas cartel became more directly involved in the drug business. The Mexican drug cartel played a major role in beating back the attempt by the Sinaloa Cartel to seize the control of Nuevo Laredo between 2005 and 2006.

The Los Zetas cartel has eventually expanded its operations to arms trafficking, kidnapping, smuggling people, and extortion.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

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