MONTERREY, Nuevo Leon – A lieutenant from a faction of Los Zetas Cartel is considered responsible for orchestrating kidnapping and extortion schemes from inside a Mexican border state prison. The boss and his henchmen are also terrorizing citrus farmers in central Tamaulipas.

Known by the nickname “El Pariente,” Roberto Garcia Tinajero is currently one of the leading members of the “Vieja Escuela” faction of Los Zetas and is currently being held at a prison in Nuevo Leon. Breitbart Texas learned from law enforcement sources in both Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas that El Pariente is also targeting citrus farmers on behalf of the Vieja Escuela. His gunmen demand hefty fees from growers under threats of violence.

It remains unclear how Garcia Tinajero is precisely able to run his cell from inside the prison. However, various police departments and prison personnel under the control of Nuevo Leon Public Security Secretary Aldo Fasci are plagued with corruption allegations.

In one of the most recent cases involving El Pariente’s cell, gunmen demanded $50,000 pesos ($2,500 USD) from a woman operating a citrus farm in the town of Guemez, law enforcement sources told Breitbart Texas. The woman was only able to produce $15,000 pesos or ($750 USD). Soon after, authorities received a call regarding a group of four gunmen in two SUVs moving along the highway that connects Ciudad Victoria with Monterrey. Tamaulipas state cops tracked the men to rural Plan de Ayala, where they found the kidnapped farmer and several weapons. State authorities learned the gunmen were part of the Vieja Escuela cell loyal El Pariente.

Prior to taking control of the cell, most extortion and kidnappings in central Tamaulipas were linked to Zeta figure Victor “El Chore” Morado Diaz, who is also inside a state prison. Since El Chore’s arrest in 2018, El Pariente was able wrest control of the operations while behind bars.

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 Tony Aranda from Nuevo Leon, and Francisco Morales from Tamaulipas.