Ildefonso Ortiz

Ildefonso Ortiz

Articles by Ildefonso Ortiz

27 Bodies of Cartel Victims in Clandestine Gravesites near U.S. Border in Mexico

Activists found the bodies of 27 cartel victims buried in 16 clandestine graves in the Mexican border city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas. The discovery of the cartel gravesites comes as government officials in Tamaulipas continue making numerous claims about how they have improved the safety in the region.

Activist bodies search

GRAPHIC VIDEO: Cartel Gunmen in Mexico Ambush, Kill Border State Cops

A group of Gulf Cartel gunmen ambushed a group of police officers in a coordinated attack that killed two officers and injured two others. The fatal attack is just another example of shootouts that plague the Mexican border state of Tamaulipas despite attempts by government officials to conceal the severity of the violence.

Reynosa Shooting

Mexican Journalist Gunned Down in Beach Hotspot, Second in One Week

A group of gunmen shot and killed a Mexican journalist in the tourist hotspot of Acapulco, Guerrero. This is the second killing of its kind in Mexico in a span of a week. Additionally, two other journalists were kidnapped but have since been released.

Members of the tactical intervention team check the area where Mexican journalist Nelson Mateus was murdered in the resort town of Acapulco, Guerrero state, Mexico, July 15, 2023. A Mexican journalist was shot to death in a store parking lot on Saturday July 15, 2023 in the southern tourist town …

VIDEO: Shoppers Panic During Mall Shootout in Mexico

A shootout inside a shopping mall in western Mexico caused widespread panic as shoppers sought cover or tried to run away. The shootout comes as state and federal authorities fail to address widespread cartel violence in the state of Michoacan and suspicions cloud its governor who is related to various cartel leaders.

Michoacan shooting

Mass Protests, Kidnappings, Blockades Erupt in Mexico After Arrest of Cartel Lieutenants

Hundreds of protesters took to the streets to block highways and riot against authorities to pressure Mexico’s government into releasing two cartel lieutenants. The government arrested the cartel leaders earlier this month. Unconfirmed information points to the protesters kidnapping 13 federal employees to pressure the government.

Guerrero Protest

Three Journalists Kidnapped, One Found Murdered in Mexico

Authorities in Mexico confirmed the apparent kidnapping of three journalists in the state of Nayarit. Police found one of the victims murdered over the weekend. While the cases appear unrelated, the common denominator is the victims are all journalists, authorities revealed.

Forensic personnel work at the crime scene where four police officers were killed in Tonala, Jalisco State, Mexico, on September 3, 2018. (Photo by Ulises Ruiz / AFP) (Photo credit should read ULISES RUIZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Long-Time Gulf Cartel Lieutenant Resurfaces as Border Turf War in Mexico Escalates

A long-time Gulf Cartel figure with a large following throughout the Mexican border state of Tamaulipas has resurfaced and sided with one of the two factions engaged in a fierce turf war. The secretive figure called out the influence of Cartel Jalisco New Generation in the region and called for a unified front against them.

Reynosa Banner

New Paramilitary Group Surfaces in Southern Mexico as Cartel Violence Spreads

A new paramilitary group surfaced in southern Mexico, claiming to have taken up arms to defend against a cartel-connected paramilitary group. The rise of paramilitary groups comes at a time when Mexico’s government has been unable to contain the rapid spread of cartel violence plaguing the country. Criminal organizations openly challenge and force police and military forces into submission.

Mexican paramilitary group in Chiapas. (AP FILE PHOTO)

Leading Mexican Anti-Narco Freedom Fighter Killed in Cartel Attack

Cartel gunmen ambushed and killed one of the founding members of a self-defense group made up of villagers who took up arms to fight cartel oppression. The slain figure was one of several freedom fighters that gained international fame in Michoacan for helping villagers fight against drug cartels in 2013.

Hipolito Mora (1)

Mexican State Officials Falsely Claim Border Shootout Stories Fake

Officials in the Mexican border state of Tamaulipas used their official social media accounts to discredit recent news articles about cartel shootouts. At the same time, these officials made false or misleading claims about the circumstances surrounding the shooting events.

Tamaulipas State Guard

Sinaloa Cartel Smugglers Videoed Migrant Beatings to Extort Families, Say Mexican Cops

Authorities in the Mexican border state of Sonora revealed that a cartel-connected human smuggling network recorded videos showing the beating of migrants with a paddle in an effort to extort their loved ones. Sonora is the same Mexican border state where the Sinaloa Cartel made headlines for using a paddle to torture local food vendors and small business owners as part of an extortion scheme.

Undocumented Mexican immigrants walk through the Sonoran Desert after illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border border on January 19, 2011 into the Tohono O'odham Nation, Arizona. The immigrants said they had wandered the desert lost for a week after crossing from Mexico into the vast Indian reservation at night. Exhausted, they …

Texas Teen Reported Missing in Mexico While Visiting Border State

Authorities in Mexico are searching for a teenager from Texas who went missing while visiting relatives in the border state of Tamaulipas. The disappearance comes at a time when Tamaulipas has become one of the most violent states in Mexico due to raging cartel violence and the perceived failure of state and federal officials to address it.

Tamaulipas FGJE

Mexican Marines Arrest Elusive Los Zetas Cartel Boss First Outed by Breitbart

Mexican military forces arrested a top lieutenant with Los Zetas who is linked to numerous killings in northern Mexico. He is also connected to a 2008 terrorist attack on a U.S. consulate in Mexico. Breitbart Texas first reported on this cartel lieutenant in 2018 after his secretive release from prison under suspicious circumstances.

El Tory

Report: Cartel Gunman Killed by Soldiers was Former Caravan Migrant

One of the cartel gunmen allegedly killed by Mexican Army soldiers after surrendering in a city near the Texas-Mexico border was a migrant from Honduras. The migrant reportedly traveled in one of the caravans of 2019 and then joined the ranks of organized crime.

Los Zetas Attack 1

Cartel Threats Force Tijuana Mayor into Hiding on Mexican Army Base

The mayor of the Mexican border city of Tijuana announced she would be moving onto a Mexican Army base in her city after receiving numerous cartel threats. The announcement comes on the same day that cartel gunmen left seven bodies inside a vehicle in that city.

Tijuana Murder Main

VIDEOS: Taxistas Agreden a Conductores de Uber En Cancún

Los taxistas en Cancún han estado atacando a los conductores de Uber y hasta turistas en un intento por mantener un monopolio de facto en el sector del transporte. Los taxistas han usado bates, piedras, cuchillos e incluso pistolas para

A taxi waits outside a restaurant in the Hotel Zone of Cancun, Quintana Roo state, Mexico, on Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021. Mexico deployed a battalion of almost 1,500 National Guard troops to Cancun and surrounding beaches after two separate deadly shootouts sparked concerns over the security of the Riviera Maya …

Cartel Gunmen Beat Police Officers with Paddle in Mexico

A group of gunmen in Mexico overpowered two state police officers, threatened them, and then repeatedly beat them with a wooden paddle with complete impunity. State officials attempted to deny the incident.

cancun cops

Militia Members Plotted to Kill Border Patrol Agents, Migrants, Say Feds

Two men who claimed to have started their own militia allegedly planned to travel to Texas to shoot at U.S. Border Patrol agents and migrants due to the current immigration crisis. At the time of their arrest, the suspects reportedly shot at FBI agents before surrendering, a federal investigation in Missouri revealed.

Border Patrol agents arrest a group of migrants. (File Photo: U.S. Border Patrol)

VIDEOS: Migrants Attempt Border Rush at Texas Port of Entry

A group of migrants attempted to force their way into the United States by rushing a CBP official port of entry. The action by the migrants forced federal authorities to close down the international port of entry.

Migrants Matamoros 2

Gulf Cartel Gunmen in Mexico Kidnap Five Tourists from U.S. in Border State

A group of Gulf Cartel gunmen kidnapped five tourists from the United States who were driving across the Mexican border state of Tamaulipas. Mexican authorities managed to rescue the tourists on the same day and over the weekend recovered the vehicles the victims were driving, including a Lamborghini Urus.

Kidnapping Victim

Cartel Gunmen Leave Three Human Heads near Mexican Army Base in Cancun

A group of cartel gunmen left three severed human heads and a narco-banner next to a military base in Cancun. The gruesome crime scene comes as rival cartels fight for control of the lucrative local drug distribution, trafficking, and money laundering businesses in the region.

Cancun Violence