MATAMOROS, Tamaulipas – Mexican border state police placed a bounty on one of the regional leaders of the Gulf Cartel who is linked to escalating violence between Matamoros and Brownsville, Texas.

This week, the Tamaulipas government announced a cash reward of $2 million pesos or $100,000 USD for information leading to the arrest of Evaristo “El Vaquero” Cruz, the current leader of the Matamoros faction of the Gulf Cartel, aka “Los Escorpiones.”

El Vaquero assumed control of the faction despite his reign being challenged by individuals loyal to the currently jailed Mario Alberto “Beto” Cardenas, a nephew of the legendary Gulf Cartel boss Osiel Cardenas Guillen.

The rift between Vaquero’s forces and the “Nueva Era CDG” led to several gun battles where at least three civilians were injured by stray fire. The clashes attributed to El Vaquero and his rivals are occurring in Matamoros, Valle Hermoso, and San Fernando.

Tamaulipas authorities revealed that El Vaquero and company are linked to numerous crimes including murder, kidnappings, extortion, robberies, drug trafficking, human smuggling, and attacks on law enforcement.

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 “J.A. Espinoza” from Tamaulipas.