Américo Villarreal, his close circle, and high-ranking state security officials under intense scrutiny by the DEA, FBI, and State Department. Unreleased videos reveal drug cartel infiltration in the state government.
Tamaulipas Governor Américo Villarreal Anaya is at the center of an international investigation that could trigger a new episode of high tension between the United States and Mexico. According to multiple sources, journalistic reports, and official records, the Trump administration and its security agencies have placed Villarreal and his closest team under unprecedented scrutiny due to alleged ties to the Gulf Cartel, the Northeast Cartel (CDN), and the Sinaloa Cartel.
The information was originally revealed by journalist Víctor Hugo Arteaga in a report for XpectroFM and has been corroborated by data from the State Department, OFAC, DEA, and FBI. Today, new unreleased videos confirm the extent of criminal group penetration into the Tamaulipas state government.
Tamaulipas, epicenter of narco-political infiltration.
The history of ties between the Villarreal family and drug trafficking is not new. Américo Villarreal Anaya, a member of Morena, is the son of former governor Américo Villarreal Guerra, who was linked through family ties to Juan Nepomuceno Guerra, founder of the Gulf Cartel.
This legacy has once again come under international scrutiny: Villarreal Anaya appears on the so-called “Marco List” of the U.S. State Department, a legal sanction tool under the Patriot Act, the Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) law, and OFAC regulations.
AMLO presents Gulf Cartel leader as captured.
In an official press conference on July 20, 2022, then-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Secretary of National Defense Luis Cresencio Sandoval publicly presented Octavio Leal Moncada, leader of the armed wing “Pedro J. Méndez Column” — operational arm of the Gulf Cartel — as arrested for his involvement in criminal activities.
In a press conference, President Andrés Manuel presents Octavio Moncada, Gulf Cartel leader, as detained.
Villarreal releases cartel leader, who then threatens the public.
Weeks after that arrest, under Américo Villarreal’s administration, Octavio Moncada was released. He later appeared in a video coercing voters to support Morena, warning of reprisals for those who did not support the governor.
Governor Américo Villarreal takes office and releases Moncada; weeks later a video appears where he threatens people if they don’t vote for MORENA.
Cartel leader Nohemí Estrella meets with governor.
In another audiovisual recording, it is documented how Nohemí Estrella Leal, daughter of Octavio Moncada and a political leader linked to the armed column, is received by Villarreal at the Government Palace. Estrella herself has publicly declared that she maintains direct contact with the governor.
Nohemí Estrella Leal, Gulf Cartel leader, leaves the Government Palace after meeting with Governor Américo.
Tamaulipas Security Secretary in meetings with the cartel.
The state’s Secretary of Public Security, Sergio Chávez García, has also been caught in a key video participating in meetings with members of the armed column and alleged members of the Gulf Cartel, allegedly coordinating aid and strategies.
Tamaulipas state security secretary Sergio Chávez García in a meeting with Gulf Cartel leaders discussing aid and coordination topics.
Moncada demands affiliation with Morena under threats.
Another recording shows Octavio Moncada openly demanding that the public affiliate with Morena, with explicit threats of violence in case of betrayal.
Octavio Moncada, Gulf Cartel leader, demands people affiliate with Morena or face consequences.
Código Magenta reveals Tania Contreras’s link.
A report by Código Magenta and journalist Héctor de Mauleón’s investigation exposed that Tania Contreras, cousin of the Gulf Cartel’s third most important leader, was legal advisor to Villarreal and is now a judicial candidate, consolidating cartel control over the state’s judicial apparatus.
Código Magenta publishes an investigation on Tania Contreras, first cousin of the third most important Gulf Cartel leader; she served as Américo Villarreal’s legal advisor and is now a judge candidate.
“Fiscal huachicol” and U.S. agency intervention.
DEA and FBI investigations have uncovered the use of the Altamira port as a route for smuggling illegal fuel (“fiscal huachicol”), from which the cartels — and allegedly state officials — have profited.
The discovery of a ship loaded with millions of tons of illegal fuel set off alarms. The profits from this smuggling operation finance the Northeast Cartel (CDN), the Gulf Cartel, and corrupt government structures in Tamaulipas.
The Trump administration’s message.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was categorical:
“The Northeast Cartel and its leaders have carried out a violent campaign of intimidation, kidnappings, and terrorism that threatens communities on both sides of the border… No one will be excluded — neither civilians, nor politicians, nor judicial operatives — from the reach of U.S. law.”
The Trump administration has invoked Executive Orders EO 14059 and EO 13224, targeting:
- Visa cancellations for officials and relatives
- Asset freezes
- Money laundering and terrorism investigations
The U.S. government has reinforced the presence of the FBI, DEA, HSI, and ATF in the Tamaulipas border region and is tracking all political and financial connections within Villarreal’s circle.
The case could become the first major diplomatic conflict of this new Trump-Mexico period, as it confronts concrete evidence of institutionalized narco-politics in a strategic border state.
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