MATAMOROS, Tamaulipas – A leader of a faction of Mexico’s Gulf Cartel who faked his death in 2017 died this week in a fierce shootout with rival cartel gunmen. The faction leader cooperated with authorities in Mexico and court records in the U.S. point to him having provided information to investigators in exchange for a light sentence in an old criminal case.

Known as Commander Fili, Filiberto “Ciclon 40” Caudillo Salinas, the current leader of the Ciclones forces for the Matamoros faction of the Gulf Cartel died during a shootout with suspected rival cartel members just west of Matamoros. At least three other gunmen died during the clash. That shootout comes just days after Mexican authorities arrested 13 gunmen and killed another one in the municipality of San Fernando, just south of Matamoros, Breitbart Texas reported.

Caudillo Salinas was a long-time operator for the Gulf Cartel and most recently controlled the eastern part of Matamoros including the nearby beach area. Some of his former associates who spoke with Breitbart Texas revealed that El Filis was missing one eye and hated being called El Tuerto — a name that would set him off in a violent fashion.

It was near that beach area in 20016 near a spot called Bartinola, Breitbart Texas reported that El Filis operated a clandestine crematorium where he would have his men use 55-gallon drums to incinerate their victims. After the remains were incinerated, the gunmen would throw the ashes in the ground or in the nearby banks of the Rio Grande in order to erase all trace of their victims.

In March 2017, Caudillo Salinas faked his death during a series of clashes between rival factions of the Gulf Cartel and the Mexican military. However, intelligence officials revealed to Breitbart Texas that instead of dying, Caudillo Salinas went underground and helped push the myth of his death. Shortly thereafter El Filis allegedly died, he became an informant and began to feed tips about his rivals to Mexican military forces. It remains unclear when El Filis resurfaced in Matamoros. At the time of his death, however, he was controlling the Ciclones strike team for the Gulf Cartel.

Federal court records in Texas revealed that El Filis allegedly cooperated with authorities before. In 2003, federal authorities arrested Caudillo Salinas on human smuggling charges. The man known as Filis pleaded guilty to the charges and was released on probation and only spent four months in prison after he violated probation. Various entries in the court docket and numerous sealed documents point to Caudillo Salinas as having been a government informant and as receiving preferential treatment by the court at the time.

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.

Tony Aranda from Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project contributed to this report