One of Mexico’s most violent drug cartels began carrying out ransom kidnappings in Mexico while collecting ransom in Texas. Mexico’s Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG) is apparently setting up kidnapping and drug trafficking operations in the Lone Star State to solidify power.

Federal authorities in Forth Worth recently arrested 21-year-old Fernando Cabrera, 19-year-old Nygel Anderson, and 18-year-old Albert Gonzalez when the trio attempted to collect a ransom at a local Home Depot store. Court records obtained by Breitbart Texas revealed that the ransom was connected to CJNG and a Mexican police officer who kidnapped the victim’s brothers in Mexico.

The criminal complaint revealed that last month, a caller from Mexico claiming to be a police officer and a member of CJNG in San Luis Potosi kidnapped the victim’s two brothers for ransom. The victim in Dallas was ordered to pay $300,000 but was able to only offer $20,000. Once the ransom was paid in Forth Worth, Texas, the victims were released in Mexico. The victims were found tied up at a hotel in San Luis.

Soon after the initial kidnapping, criminals in Mexico called to demand additional monies to not kidnap the victim’s brothers thereafter. FBI agents arrested the three men who claimed to be from Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, as they were collecting the second ransom.

During questioning, the teenagers claimed they were moving from McAllen to Dallas and were preparing to deliver what they believed were drug proceeds.

The brazen kidnapping by Mexico’s Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion comes at a time when the organization is setting up multiple drug trafficking operations in the Dallas area to become the dominant criminal entity. Last month, eight members of CJNG were arrested in Dallas after authorities raided a large-scale methamphetamine operation where the drugs were being sold out of a used car lot, the Star-Telegram reported. The same cartel was linked to other drug trafficking operations from South Texas to Dallas.

An offshoot of the Sinaloa Cartel, CJNG earned a reputation as being one of the most violent organizations in Mexico with armies of well-trained gunmen who have gone toe-to-toe with Mexican military forces and are trained in the use of explosives, Breitbart Texas reported. The criminal organization also recruited Central American terrorists who were once part of Colombia’s FARC guerrillas.

While still considered a newcomer in regard to drug cartels, CJNG has become dominant by spreading influence over large areas and forming strategic alliances with corrupt Mexican law enforcement as well as other cartels. The once quiet central Mexican state of Guanajuato is now one of the key battlegrounds where the CJNG is working to establish its presence, setting off a marked spike in violence, Breitbart Texas reported. Similar violence in San Luis seeks to root out Los Zetas from drug trafficking routes crossing through the state.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded the Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and Stephen K. Bannon. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook.

Brandon Darby is managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded the Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and Stephen K. Bannon. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.