A Mexican federal judge ruled the recent arrest of a feared cartel lord’s mistress was illegal days after the Cartel Santa Rosa De Lima said car bombs would be used against civilians.

This week, an unnamed federal judge dismissed the case against Karina Mora Villalobos and three of her associates, claiming authorities did not have proper warrants. The judge also found that prosecutors could not link their suspects to the weapons and explosives seized during their arrests, La Silla Rota reported.

Karina Mora is the mistress of Jose Antonio “El Marro” Yepez Ortiz, the feared leader of the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel, which is fighting a turf war in the state of Guanajuato. In July, Breitbart Texas published an exclusive photograph of El Marro and Karina, despite the fact that El Marro is married to another woman.

In late January, Mexican authorities arrested Karina Mora and three associates during a raid. Weapons and explosives were also seized at the time. Soon after, El Marro sent threats to officials claiming he would use car bombs on civilians. Breitbart Texas was able to confirm with Mexican law enforcement that the threats were deemed credible and triggered elevated security protocols in response.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.

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