“tamaulipas, a state located in northeastern mexico holds significant strategic importance for drug cartels for several reasons. these reasons encompass geographical and economic factors as well as historical developments that have shaped the region's current cartel landscape. tamaulipas shares a long border with texas, providing direct access to one of the largest drug markets in the world. key border cities like reynosa and nueva laredo serve as crucial entry points for narcotics smuggling into the united states. the state contains several border crossings, including the bridges in nueva laredo and matamoros. these crossings are critical for moving large quantities of drugs hidden in both commercial and private vehicles. tamaulipas is a significant hub for trade due to its extensive road and rail networks that connect to major mexican cities and the united states. the port of altamira is also one of mexico's most important sea ports, facilitating the movement of goods including illicit ones. the state's robust industrial and agricultural sectors provide cover for drug traffickers. legal goods can be used to disguise narcotics, making detection more challenging for law enforcement agencies.”

well, enough of the wiki copypasta.
but historically tamaulipas has struggled with weak governance and high levels of corruption within local law enforcement and political systems. this allows cartels to operate with relative impunity and infiltrate state institutions such as local politics as well as police.
the state has been a battleground for some of mexico's most powerful cartels including the gulf cartel and zetas.
the fragmentation and conflicts between these groups has led to a highly volatile security situation, further complicating law enforcement efforts.
cartels in tamaulipas are known for their extreme violence and intimidation tactics, which helps them maintain control over smuggling routes and local populations. this violence also serves as a deterrent against interference from rival groups and authorities. tamaulipas has been a key state in mexico's narco landscape for generations, even dating back to the 1920s when the us were still under prohibition. though in more recent decades the state has become one of mexico's most dangerous and very frequently is among the top states for murder rates and violent crime.

this was primarily fueled by the rise of the cartel del golfo during the late 1990s and early 2000s, and the formation of los zetas,
initially being bodyguards for cartel del golfo leader osiel cardenas in the late 1990s.

though they quickly became the official armed wing of the gulf cartel and, due to their military expertise, would be extremely effective in securing new drug routes and territory for the gulf cartel.
they ruled their territories with an iron fist and became known for their use of extreme hyper violence and quasi terroristic tactics that not only struck fear in the hearts of their rivals but also law enforcement and the local population.
the message los zetas perpetrated was simple and clear:

anyone who goes against us will end up in pieces.

as the 2000s rolled on, los zetas would become increasingly more powerful, so much so that they would work on their own trafficking operations and hustles despite still being under the wing of the gulf cartel.
during the back end of the first decade of the 2000s the zetas began to realize that they had gotten to the point where they no longer needed the support of the golfos.
they were pulling in an insane amount of monthly profit and their organization had grown immensely.

osiel cardenas, at this point (post 2007), was no longer leader of the gulf cartel, having been arrested in mexico in 2003 (tho he controlled from 2003 till 2007 thru mexican prison) and then deported to the usa in 2007. without osiel in control, the zetas became harder for the golfos to control and a power vacuum at the top of the gulf cartel then emerged. after months of uncertainty, the golfos would then be led by jorge eduardo costilla sanchez (alias, el coss), a former police officer, and antonio cardenas (aka tony tormenta), the brother of former leader osiel cardenas.

tony tormenta would later be shot dead following a shootout with the military in november of 2010. this would leave eduardo sanchez as the sole leader of the gulf cartel until his eventual capture in 2012. the gulf cartel choosing tony tormenta and el coss as their new leaders did not go down well with los zetas as, in their opinion, they felt a zeta should have controlled the entire golfo zetas organization. several top zetas felt that heriberto lazcano aka z-3 should have taken control of the organization. in their view they were responsible for the growing influence of the gulf cartel and largely contributed to much of the revenue being made. and there was truth to this belief. after the new leadership of the gulf cartel was confirmed, the tension between zetas would continue to grow, with zetas actively disobeying orders from high ranking golfo leaders.

on the 18th of january 2010, several members of the gulf cartel kidnapped victor pena mendoza, a leader of zetas nicknamed el concord, who was a close associate and friend of miguel trevino morales aka z-40. when he was held captive, pena mendoza was asked to switch alliances and join the gulf cartel but he refused. he was then tortured and executed by his captors. the killing was said to have been organized by high-ranking golfo samuel flores borrego.
upon hearing the news of the murder of his friend, miguel trevino morales, second in command of zetas behind heriberto lazcano, signed a narco banner which was made public and signed off by z-40 addressing samuel flores borrego and costilla sanchez. it simply read:

“hand over the assassin of my friend you son of a bitch. you have until the 25th of january. if you don't comply, there will be war.”

the senior leaders of the gulf cartel ignored the threat by z-40, much to their mistake.
on the 30th of january 2010, miguel trevino morales organized the kidnap of 16 gulf cartel members in reynosa, tamaulipas.
all 16 men were subsequently tortured and executed.

this would mark the official start of the war b/w the gulf cartel and their former employees, los zetas. the war would rage on for the best part of 5 years and it resulted in the death of thousands of people.
massacres took place, the discovery of mass graves was a regular occurrence, and the levels of violence on display were like something out of a horror movie. the golfo vs zeta war also popularized the tactic of filmed execution videos.

tamaulipas was greatly affected by the war, with thousands of people becoming displaced due to the violence.

ultimately the war would end up decimating both cartels, with either side losing men, leaders, and influence. among the chaos, once prominent leaders were arrested or killed. both cartels would essentially fracture and split into various different factions. zetas primarily split into two groups:

los zetas vieja escuela (the old school zetas) and the cartel del noreste.

cartel del noreste is led by family members of miguel trevino morales, with some rumors even suggesting that z 40 may even run the cartel from behind bars in mexico.
as for the gulf cartel, they would also split into various different factions such as los metros, los rojos, los talibanes, and los panteras, as well as grupo escorpiones. many of these factions still use the gulf cartel title. however, many of these splinter groups are fighting one another in tamaulipas state as well as fighting los zetas splinter factions. the gulf organization are no longer a unified cartel, and the fracture of both golfos and zetas has not made tamaulipas any safer. in fact the levels of violence are still extremely high in the state.

the scorpion group or grupo escorpiones are one of the most powerful gulf cartel splinter factions and they primarily operate in the municipality of matamoros. the scorpions were founded by a brother of tony tormenta, however they were originally called los ciclones and were formed in 2010 to essentially do battle with zetas after antonio's death in 2010. the group was believed to have been disbanded though this wasn't the case.
in 2015 in matamoros a faction of cartel del golfo emerged calling themselves the scorpion group (grupo escorpiones), and they were made up of remnants of the original ciclones group. in fact some in the know actually describe the scorpion group as the armed wing of los ciclones. their main base is in matamoros, though they have presence all across tamaulipas state. in the area they have long been at war with fellow gulf cartel splinter faction los metros, with both sides going tit-for-tat since 2015. the ciclones and scorpions draw much of their influence from their control of the border crossing between matamoros and brownsville, texas, along which drugs, weapons, and contraband all flow with impunity. the scorpion group are also engaged in a war with the northeast cartel (cartel del noreste) for control of the municipalities of san fernando, el mante, campo mendez, san carlos and ciudad. the scorpion group in the last 2 to 3 years or so have arguably gone on to become the most influential splinter faction within the gulf cartel despite only having territory in one state. they are extremely well armed and are said to have former police officers, guerrilla fighters, and soldiers among their ranks, as well as hardened veteran sicarios.

cartel del noreste, without a doubt, would be the most powerful splinter faction of zetas (tho not as powerful as the OG zetas themselves). the northeast cartel was founded in 2015 following the arrest of the last leader of the original zetas, omar trevino (z 42 or smth) morales, the brother of miguel. following the arrest, the zetas were plunged into infighting, and when francisco trevimo, the nephew of omar and miguel trevino morales, capitalized and took over a section of the organization, it eventually splintered into becoming what is known as cartel del noreste. the northeast cartel has gone on to become one of the most violent criminal organizations in mexico, with a presence in key northern and central mexican states where it is fighting prominent enemies including the jalisco nueva generacion (cjng). but the core of the northeast cartel's power and revenue comes from its control of nueva laredo, a key crossing into the united states. to the southeast they have a presence in mier, camargo, and ciudad aleman where they have gone to war with los metros. the northeast cartel have become known for hyper violence primarily carried out by their armed wing, tropa del infierno (or in english, the troops of hell). the hell troops rose to notoriety in 2019 and 2020 for a number of violent attacks on other cartels and clashes with authorities. cdn have the reputation of being some of the scummiest around, with alleged attacks on civilians as well as carrying out crimes such as kidnap and extortion. the rise of cdn has even made some of the warring gulf cartel factions call a truce to battle a common enemy in cartel del noreste.the quick rise in prominence of cdn has also resulted in extreme pressure from law enforcement. they have suffered numerous casualties in shootouts with police and the military, and several high-ranking capos over the years have been apprehended by police, including the arrest of el kiko, juan francisco trevino in 2016 and the subsequent arrest of his successor juan gerardo trevino aka elo in 2022.

despite various high ranking members being arrested, cdn have largely managed to avoid infighting and still carry much influence in their territories. it's also speculated that the trevino family still run the organization and again some rumors even suggest that z40 may be coordinating the cartel from behind bars. i find this theory certainly possible, as z40 has been known to have navigated the prison system in mexico extremely well, getting preferential treatment with no extradition to the usa. in fact, in 2023 it was alleged that from behind bars he threatened a 51 year old prison director named pablo eduardo cenes. kada cada's wife told authorities that her husband had received threats from miguel angel trevino morales aka z40, former zeta leader, and only around 2 weeks after these alleged threats pablo eduardo cenes was gunned down in mexico city by a lone gunman.

z40 is arguably the most violent trafficker in narco history, and the possibility that he still may have some influence is a terrifying thought to say the least. in recent years the various factions related to the zetas and the golfos have caused carnage in tamaulipas, and one of the conflicts has been between grupo escorpiones and cartel del noreste.

in recent days a graphic video was released that hearkened back to the old days the days of the golfo versus zetas War i wouldd certainly describe it as the first cartel video to be released in 2024.

NOTE :- as of 2025, miguel trevino morales has been extradited to the united states.