SAN FERNANDO, Tamaulipas – A feared Gulf Cartel commander linked to numerous highway robberies, rapes, and an attack on a state official, died in a shootout with police. Four of his gunmen also died. The drug lord was previously captured but a state judge ordered his release.

The shootout took place over the weekend when a special forces unit from the Tamaulipas State Police tracked down 29-year-old Esteban “La Princesa” Gonzalez Garcia and tried to arrest him. La Princesa was followed to a series of rural roads in Mendez, near the community of La Florida. A group of gunmen failed to protect him during exchanges with police.

Breitbart News obtained access to sensitive law enforcement information which revealed authorities were trying to apprehend Gonzalez in recent weeks for his violent exploits along the highways that connect the border city of Reynosa to San Fernando.

In addition to numerous highway robberies and rapes, Gonzalez was linked to the recent attack on the Tamaulipas Undersecretary of Health. In August, a group of gunmen fired several shots at an official vehicle. No one was injured. In December 2018, authorities arrested La Princesa with a team of his gunmen shortly before a judge released him.

State agents tracked La Princesa’s operations to a series of boutique shops on the outskirts of Reynosa, where his crew would hide drugs and weapons. Fearing capture, the Gulf Cartel operator fled to San Fernando, a city controlled by Los Zetas. While the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas are bitter rivals, the faction in San Fernando, known as “Zetas Vieja Escuela,” allied with the Gulf Cartel in recent years. La Princesa found refuge and was able to continue working for a short period.

Editor’s Note: Breitbart Texas traveled to the Mexican States of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, and Nuevo León to recruit citizen journalists willing to risk their lives and expose the cartels silencing their communities. The writers would face certain death at the hands of the various cartels that operate in those areas including the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas if a pseudonym were not used. Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles are published in both English and in their original Spanish. This article was written by “Francisco Morales” and “J.A. Espinoza” from Tamaulipas.