title: Malé

text: The city is divided into six divisions, four of which are on Malé Island: Henveiru, Galolhu, Maafannu and Macchangolhi. The nearby island of Vilingili, formerly a tourist resort and prior to that a prison, is the fifth division (Vilimalé). The sixth division is Hulhumalé, an artificial island settled since 2004. In addition, the airport Island Hulhulé is part of the city. Plans have been made to develop the "Gulhifalhu" reef, implementation began in 2008.


title: Malé

text: The island of Malé is the eighth most densely populated island in the world, and it is the 160th most populous island in the world. Since there is no surrounding countryside, all infrastructure has to be located in the city itself. Water is provided from desalinated ground water; the water works pumps brackish water from deep wells in the city and desalinates that using reverse osmosis. Electric power is generated in the city using diesel generators. Sewage is pumped unprocessed into the sea. Solid waste is transported to nearby islands, where it is used to fill in lagoons. The airport was built in this way, and currently the Thilafushi lagoon is being filled in.


title: Malé

text: Many government buildings and agencies are located on the waterfront. Velana International Airport is on adjacent Hulhulé Island which includes a seaplane base for internal transportation. Several land reclamation projects have expanded the harbour.


title: Malé

text: Tourism is the largest industry in the Maldives, accounting for 28% of GDP and more than 60% of the Maldives' foreign exchange receipts. The GDP per capita expanded by 265% in the 1980s and a further 115% in the 1990s. Over 90% of government tax revenue comes from import duties and tourism-related taxes. Malé, the capital, has many tourist attractions and nearby resorts. Maldivian, the airline of the Maldives, has its head office in Malé, as does the airline FlyMe.


title: Malé

text: The central harbour and port of the Maldives is located in Malé, the centre for all commercial activities. The Maldives Transport & Contracting Company is formed in 1980 to contribute towards the development of infrastructure and transport service in the Maldives. The port is part of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road that runs from the Chinese coast via the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean, there to the Upper Adriatic region with its rail connections to Central and Eastern Europe.


title: Malé

text: Each of the islands of Malé is served by a dense network of paved roads, which are named "magu" (road or street), "hingun" and "goalhi" (small road or alley). Road traffic is heavy, especially on Malé Island.


title: Malé

text: Malé and Hulhulé Island are linked by the Sinamalé Bridge, which was opened to traffic in October 2018, while Hulhulé and Hulhumalé are linked via a causeway, thus allowing the road networks of the three islands to be connected. Public transport consists of several bus lines within the islands, as well as connecting the three islands.


title: Malé

text: Velana International Airport is located on nearby Hulhulé and is the city's airport as well as the principal airport in Maldives. With the opening of the Sinamalé Bridge, the airport is now accessible from Malé by road. Prior to the opening of the bridge, transport between the airport and Malé was by a frequent ferry service. Hulhulé and Hulhumalé have been connected via a causeway since the development of Hulhumalé, allowing the airport to be accessed by road from the latter.


title: Malé

text: As Malé, Hulhulé and Hulhumalé are now linked by roads, inter-island travel between the three islands can be done by road. For the other islands, inter-island transport is by ferry.


title: Malé

text: Malé City Council is the local government body responsible for the governance of the city of Malé. The council was created in 2011, with the enactment of the Decentralization Bill. The city is divided into 18 political wards each with one councillor.


title: Malé

text: The majority of councillors elected in the Local Council Elections in 2020 was from the Progressive Party of Maldives Including the first elected Mayor of the capital city.


title: Pete Carroll

text: Peter Clay Carroll (born September 15, 1951) is an American football coach who is the head coach and executive vice president for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He was previously the head football coach at USC from 2000 to 2009, where he won six bowl games and back to back National Championships in 2003 and 2004.


title: Pete Carroll

text: Beginning his head coaching career on the professional level, Carroll saw minimal success with the New York Jets in 1994 and New England Patriots from 1997 to 1999. Shifting to college football with USC, he revitalized the struggling program into a top-ranked contender. Carroll's collegiate success prompted an NFL return in 2010 when he was hired as the head coach of Seattle. Under Carroll, the Seahawks have qualified for the playoffs nine times, clinched their division five times, made two consecutive Super Bowl appearances, and won the franchise's first championship in Super Bowl XLVIII. The team's Legion of Boom defense also led the league in scoring for four consecutive seasons during his tenure. Carroll is one of three head coaches (alongside Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer) to win a college football national championship and a Super Bowl.


title: Pete Carroll

text: Carroll was born on September 15, 1951, in San Francisco, California, the son of Rita ("née" Ban) and James Edward "Jim" Carroll. Two of his paternal great-grandparents were Irish immigrants, and his Croatian maternal grandparents emigrated from around the region of Šibenik. He was raised in Greenbrae, California and attended Greenbrae School. Carroll attended Redwood High School in Larkspur, California.


title: Pete Carroll

text: He was a multi-sport star in football (playing quarterback, wide receiver, and defensive back), basketball, and baseball, earning the school's Athlete of the Year honors as a senior in 1969. He was inducted into the charter class of the Redwood High School Athletic Hall of Fame in April 2009.


title: Pete Carroll

text: After high school, Carroll attended junior college at the nearby College of Marin, where he played football for two years (lettering in his second year) before transferring to the University of the Pacific, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. At Pacific, Carroll played free safety for two years for the Tigers, earning All-Pacific Coast Athletic Conference honors both years (1971–72) and earning his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 1973.


title: Pete Carroll

text: After graduation, Carroll tried out for the Honolulu Hawaiians of the World Football League at their training camp in Riverside but did not make the team due to shoulder problems combined with his small size.


title: Pete Carroll

text: Carroll's energetic and positive personality made a good impression on his head coach, Chester Caddas. When Caddas found out Carroll was interested in coaching, he offered him a job as a graduate assistant on his staff at Pacific. Carroll agreed and enrolled as a graduate student, earning a secondary teaching credential and Master's degree in physical education in 1976, while serving as a graduate assistant for three years and working with the wide receivers and secondary defenders. The assistants at Pacific during this time included a number of other future successful coaches, including Greg Robinson, Jim Colletto, Walt Harris, Ted Leland, and Bob Cope. Carroll was inducted into the Pacific Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995.


title: Pete Carroll

text: After graduating from Pacific, Carroll's colleague Bob Cope was hired by the University of Arkansas and he convinced Lou Holtz, then the head coach of the Razorbacks, to also hire Carroll. Carroll spent the 1977 season as a graduate assistant working with the secondary under Cope. During his season with Arkansas, he met his future offensive line coach Pat Ruel, also a graduate assistant, as well as the future head coach of the Razorbacks Houston Nutt, who was a backup quarterback. Arkansas' Defensive Coordinator at the time, Monte Kiffin, would be a mentor to Carroll. The Razorbacks won the 1978 Orange Bowl that season.


title: Pete Carroll

text: The following season, Carroll moved to Iowa State University, where he was again an assistant working on the secondary under Earle Bruce. When Bruce moved on to Ohio State University, he again hired Carroll to coach the secondary. The Ohio State squad made it to the 1980 Rose Bowl where they lost to USC.


title: Pete Carroll

text: When Monte Kiffin was named head coach of North Carolina State University in 1980, he brought Carroll in as his defensive coordinator and secondary coach. In 1983, Bob Cope became head coach of Pacific and brought Carroll on as assistant head coach and offensive coordinator.


title: Pete Carroll

text: Carroll left Pacific after a year and entered the NFL in 1984 as the defensive backs coach of the Buffalo Bills. The next year, he moved on to work with the Minnesota Vikings, where he held a similar position for five seasons (1985–89). In 1989, he was a candidate for the head coaching position at Stanford University; the position went to Dennis Green. His success with the Vikings led to his hiring by the New York Jets, where he served as defensive coordinator under Bruce Coslet for four seasons (1990–93). Carroll and Coslet had known each other for many years by that time, as Carroll's older brother was Coslet's college roommate. When there was an opening for the Vikings' head coach position in 1992, he was a serious candidate but lost the position, again to Green.


title: Pete Carroll

text: In 1994, Carroll was elevated to Head Coach of the Jets. Known for his energy and youthful enthusiasm, Carroll painted a basketball court in the parking lot of the team's practice facility where he and his assistant coaches regularly played three-on-three games during their spare time. The Jets got off to a 6–5 start under Carroll, but in Week 12, he was the victim of Dan Marino's "clock play"—a fake spike that became a Miami Dolphins game-winning touchdown. The Jets lost all of their remaining games to finish 6–10. He was fired after one season.


title: Pete Carroll

text: Carroll was hired for the next season by the San Francisco 49ers, where he served as defensive coordinator for the following two seasons (1995–96). His return to success as the defensive coordinator led to his hiring as the head coach of the New England Patriots in 1997, replacing coach Bill Parcells, who had resigned after disputes with the team's ownership. His 1997 Patriots team won the AFC East division title, but his subsequent two teams did not fare as well—losing in the wild card playoff round in 1998, and missing the playoffs after a late-season slide in 1999—and he was fired after the 1999 season. Patriots owner Robert Kraft said firing Carroll was one of the toughest decisions he has had to make since buying the team, stating, "A lot of things were going on that made it difficult for him to stay, some of which were out of his control. And it began with following a legend." His combined NFL record as a head coach was 33–31, and he was later considered a much better fit for college football than the NFL after his success at USC.


title: Pete Carroll

text: Even though several NFL teams approached him with defensive coordinator positions, Carroll instead spent the 2000 season as a consultant for pro and college teams, doing charitable work for the NFL, and writing a column about pro football for CNNSI.com.


title: Pete Carroll

text: Carroll was named the Trojans' head coach on December 15, 2000, signing a five-year contract after USC had gone through a tumultuous 18-day search to replace fired coach Paul Hackett. He was not the Trojans' first choice, and was considered a long shot as the USC Athletic Department under Director Mike Garrett initially planned to hire a high-profile coach with recent college experience. Meanwhile, Carroll, who had not coached in over a year and not coached in the college ranks since 1983, drew unfavorable comparisons to the outgoing Hackett.


title: Pete Carroll

text: USC first pursued then-Oregon State coach Dennis Erickson, who instead signed a contract extension with the Beavers; then Oregon coach Mike Bellotti, who similarly signed an extension. The search then moved to the San Diego Chargers coach Mike Riley, who had been an assistant coach at USC before later becoming the head coach of Oregon State. Stuck in contractual obligations to the Chargers (who were still in the midst of an NFL season) and hesitant about moving his family, Riley was unable to give a firm answer, opening an opportunity for Carroll, the school's fourth choice.


title: Pete Carroll

text: Carroll actively pursued the position, as his daughter, Jaime, was then a player on the school's successful volleyball team. After the first three primary candidates turned down the position, USC hired Carroll. Under Garrett, USC had tried to recruit Carroll to be their head coach in 1997, while he was coaching the Patriots, but Carroll was unable to take the position. The second time the opening came up, Daryl Gross, then senior associate athletic director for USC, recommended Carroll to Garrett based on his experience as a former scout for the New York Jets while Carroll coached there. Garrett cited Carroll's intelligence, energy and reputation as a defensive specialist as reasons for his hire.


title: Pete Carroll

text: The choice of Carroll for USC's head coaching position was openly criticized by the media and many USC fans, primarily because of USC's stagnation under the outgoing Hackett and Carroll's record as a head coach in the NFL and being nearly two decades removed from the college level. Garrett took particular criticism for the hire, with the press tying his future with Carroll's after he had to fire two head coaches in four years for USC's premiere athletic coaching position. Former NFL players (including USC alumni) such as Ronnie Lott, Gary Plummer, Tim McDonald and Willie McGinest offered their support for Carroll, who they noted had a player-friendly, easygoing style that might suit the college game and particularly recruiting. The USC Athletic Department received 2,500 e-mails, faxes and phone calls from alumni—mostly critical—and a number of donors asking for Carroll's removal before they would donate again.


title: Pete Carroll

text: Within a year of his hiring, many prominent critics reversed course. In 2008, ESPN.com named Carroll's hiring number 1 in a list of the Pac-10's top ten moments of the BCS era.


title: Pete Carroll

text: The criticism of Carroll became louder when Carroll's first USC team opened the 2001 season going 2–5, with some sportswriters writing off the once-dominant Trojans, who were the only Pac-10 football team to never finish in the national top 10 during the previous decade, as a dying program. However, after the slow start, Carroll's teams proceeded to go 67–7 over the next 74 games, winning two national championships and playing for another.


title: Pete Carroll

text: Carroll was considered one of the most effective recruiters in college football, having brought in multiple top-ranked recruiting classes; he was also known for getting commitments from nationally prominent players early in high school. His son, Brennan Carroll, was USC's recruiting coordinator as well as the tight ends coach during the elder Carroll's tenure as head coach. He had consistently been on the forefront of recruiting due to his ability to connect with potential players on their level, including becoming the first college coach with a Facebook page, as well as an early adopter of Twitter.


title: Pete Carroll

text: Carroll's team won a then-school record 34 straight games from 2003 to 2005, a streak that started after a triple-overtime loss to California and ended with the national championship game against the Texas Longhorns in the 2006 Rose Bowl. Fourteen of those games were later vacated for breaking NCAA rules. During his tenure, USC broke its average home attendance record four times in a row (they play at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum); the USC home attendance average in 2001, his first season, was 57,744; by 2006, it was over 91,000. During this period, USC had a 35-game winning streak at the Coliseum, spanning 6 years (2001-2007). The streak began on October 13, 2001, with a 48-17 win over the Arizona State Sun Devils and the final victory was a 47-14 win over the Washington State Cougars on September 22, 2007. The streak ended on October 6, 2007, with a 24–23 loss to the Stanford Cardinal who was a 41-point underdog. Prior to this the last loss was on September 29, 2001, (during Carroll's first year) to Stanford Cardinal 21-16. The success of USC football under Carroll led to a sharp rise in overall athletic department revenue, growing from $38.6 million in Carroll's first season at USC to more than $76 million in 2007–08.


title: Pete Carroll

text: Controversy arose when USC was excluded from the National Championship Game for the 2003 season, even though ranked #1 in both the Associated Press (AP) Poll and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. Years later, (2008) he was asked if winning the Rose Bowl was ever not enough. "No. You've got to understand that our mindset is to focus only on what we can control. We can only control getting to the Rose Bowl. Winning our conference and going to the Rose Bowl is what our goal is every year. Our goal isn't about national championships, because we don't have control of that -- that's in somebody else's hands. We found that out years ago [2003], when we were No. 1 but then we were No. 3. We already knew that but that just proved it. If we win our games and we're out there and they want us to go somewhere else, then we'll go. We love the Rose Bowl."


title: Pete Carroll

text: Carroll was repeatedly approached regarding vacant head coach positions in the NFL beginning in 2002. Carroll hesitated to return to the NFL after his previous experiences, and said that his return would likely rest on control over personnel matters at a level unprecedented in the league. He had insisted over the years that he was happy at USC and that money was not an issue; he also was said to enjoy the Southern California lifestyle. When asked if he would retire at USC, Carroll responded:


title: Pete Carroll

text: When originally hired, Carroll signed a five-year contract worth approximately $1 million annually. He received a significant raise after the 2002 season and earned close to $3 million in the 2004 season, which ended with USC winning the BCS title in January 2005. He agreed to a contract extension in December 2005. His total compensation, including pay and benefits, for the 2007 fiscal year was $4,415,714.


title: Pete Carroll

text: On January 11, 2010, it was reported that Carroll would be leaving USC to coach the Seattle Seahawks. Carroll had told his players the previous evening that he would be resigning his position with the Trojans to become the new head coach of the Seattle Seahawks. According to the "Los Angeles Times", Carroll came to agreement with the Seahawks on a 5-year $33 million contract to become head coach.


title: Pete Carroll

text: As head coach, Pete Carroll led a resurgence of football at the University of Southern California. Carroll was generally regarded as one of the top college football coaches in the country, and has been compared to College Football Hall of Fame coach Knute Rockne. Program highlights under Carroll include:


title: Pete Carroll

text: In July 2007, ESPN.com named USC its #1 team of the decade for the period between 1996 and 2006, primarily citing the Trojans' renaissance and dominance under Carroll. In 2007, his effect on the college football landscape was named one of the biggest developments over the past decade in "ESPN the Magazine". In May 2008, Carroll was named the coach who did the most to define the first 10 years of the BCS Era.


title: Pete Carroll

text: On June 9, 2010, "The Los Angeles Times" reported that Carroll, along with other active and former USC officials, had appeared in front of a ten-member NCAA Committee on Infractions the previous February. The next day, June 10, the NCAA announced sanctions against the USC football program including a two-year bowl ban, the elimination of thirty football scholarships, and forfeiture of some football victories from 2004 to 2005 (a season which had included winning the Bowl Championship Series title), and all team victories from the undefeated 2005–06 regular season, when USC lost to Texas in the BCS title game. With the vacated games removed, Carroll drops to fourth on USC's all-time wins list, behind John McKay, Howard Jones and John Robinson. His 97 on-field wins would put him ahead of Robinson for third in Trojan history.


title: Pete Carroll

text: The allegations centered on former Trojan star Reggie Bush. Bush was found to have accepted several improper gifts, including the use of a San Diego area home for members of his family. It was reported that USC might appeal the sanctions. These sanctions have been criticized by some NCAA football writers, including ESPN's Ted Miller, who wrote, "It's become an accepted fact among informed college football observers that the NCAA sanctions against USC were a travesty of justice, and the NCAA's refusal to revisit that travesty are a massive act of cowardice on the part of the organization."


title: Pete Carroll

text: After Carroll announced that he was leaving for the Seahawks, he denied the possibility that the NCAA sanctions were a factor in his leaving USC to return to pro football in Seattle. "Not in any way," Carroll stated, "because I know where we stand. It's just a process we have to go through. We know we've fought hard to do right." Carroll was hired before the sanctions were announced.


title: Pete Carroll

text: Reacting to the USC sanctions in a video produced by his new employers, Carroll said on June 10, 2010, "I'm absolutely shocked and disappointed in the findings of the NCAA." He said in 2014 during a visit to USC, "I thought [the NCAA's investigation into USC] was dealt with poorly and very irrationally and done with way too much emotion instead of facts. I sat in the meetings. I listened to the people talk. I listened to the venom that they had for our program... They tried to make it out like it was something else. They made a terrible error." In 2015, he said, "We had so much success and we had so much fun doing it, it was uncommon for people to understand. ... I think it rubbed people the wrong way. There was such a bitterness."


title: Pete Carroll

text: Wrote "Los Angeles Times" sportswriter Jerry Crowe, "It's somehow apt that the Trojans were asked to return the Grantland Rice Trophy after being stripped of the 2004 Football Writers Assn. of America national championship... Grantland Rice was the legendary early 20th century sportswriter who wrote, 'When the great scorer comes/to mark against your name/He'll write not 'won' or 'lost'/but how you played the game.'"


title: Pete Carroll

text: Among Carroll's critics in the media was longtime "Los Angeles Times" sportswriter Bill Plaschke, who said that in one stroke, Carroll went


title: Pete Carroll

text: "Sporting News" writer Mike Florio called for the Seahawks to fire Carroll, saying that "justice won't truly be served until the only coaching Carroll ever does entails holding an Xbox controller."


title: Pete Carroll

text: On August 26, 2010, the Football Writers Association of America announced it would take back USC's 2004 Grantland Rice Trophy and leave that year's award vacant, the only vacancy in the over half century of the history of the award. The FWAA also said it would not consider USC as a candidate for the award for the 2010 season. New USC athletic director Pat Haden said USC would return the trophy, stating, "While we know that some fans and former student-athletes may be disappointed, our central priority at this time is our overall commitment to compliance and this action is in line with the standards we have set for our entire athletic program."


title: Pete Carroll

text: After the Seattle Seahawks fired head coach Jim L. Mora after one season, Carroll was rumored to be in the running for the job. On January 8, 2010, it was reported that Carroll was about to be hired as head coach of the Seahawks; the two parties were hammering out "minor details" in the pending contract. According to the "Los Angeles Times", Carroll was "close to reaching an agreement with the Seattle Seahawks on Friday evening." On the morning of January 9, 2010, Carroll reportedly came to agreement with the Seahawks on a five-year contract that would appoint him as head coach. He was officially hired as the Seahawks' head coach on January 11. He was also named executive vice president of football operations, effectively making him the Seahawks' general manager as well. While the Seahawks have a general manager in John Schneider, he serves mainly in an advisory role to Carroll, who has the final say in football matters. He is one of three coaches who also has the powers of general manager, along with New England's Bill Belichick and Washington's Ron Rivera.


title: Pete Carroll

text: In his first season, Carroll almost completely overturned the Seahawks roster, totaling over 200 transactions in the course of only one season. However, these moves paved the way for a 4–2 start to the 2010 season. Although Seattle faltered through the latter half of the season, the team beat their NFC West division rival Rams in the final week of the regular season for the division championship, becoming the first 7–9 team in NFL history to win a division title. Carroll made even more history as the Seahawks later upset the then-Super Bowl Champions New Orleans Saints by a score of 41-36 during the Wild Card Round of the playoffs, behind running back Marshawn Lynch and the famed Beast Quake run. However, the following week at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois, they then fell to the Chicago Bears, whom they had defeated earlier in the season, in the by a score of 35–24.


title: Pete Carroll

text: In 2011, Carroll again coached the Seahawks to a 7–9 record, but it was not enough to secure a playoff spot due to the ascendance of Carroll's old college rival coach Jim Harbaugh and division rival San Francisco 49ers, who finished with a 13–3 record. It was the first season the Seahawks had a starting quarterback other than Matt Hasselbeck in over a decade.


title: Pete Carroll

text: In his third season with the Seahawks in 2012, Carroll, along with rookie quarterback Russell Wilson, led the team to an 11–5 record, including going undefeated at home. The 2012 season was Carroll's first winning season for the team. The Seahawks were also involved in controversy during Week 3's "Monday Night Football" game against the Green Bay Packers in Seattle, when the replacement officials called two different results for Russell Wilson's Hail Mary pass to wide receiver Golden Tate. The officials called the play in the Seahawks' favor, igniting a national outrage about the officiating. When the NFL referee lockout ended several days later, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell acknowledged that public furor over the call accelerated the eventual resolution of the labor dispute. Carroll's record was enough to post the team's second playoff berth, and the Seahawks won their game on the road against the Washington Redskins and fellow rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III, 24–14. Seattle lost the following week in the to the Atlanta Falcons at the Georgia Dome by a score of 30–28.


title: Pete Carroll

text: The Seattle Seahawks 2013 season began with four consecutive preseason wins, and odds-makers had distinguished them as the favorite in the NFC. The regular season began with a 12–7 victory at Carolina. The prior year's NFC Champions and divisional rival, the San Francisco 49ers, were blown out by the Seahawks, 29–3. Winning out September, they visited the Colts in Indianapolis and suffered their first loss, on October 6. That was the only loss Carroll, and team, would suffer until December. Heading to San Francisco for their second match-up against their divisional foe, the Seahawks were consensus best in NFC, posting an 11–1 record. However, the game was in stark contrast to their first in September. The 49ers edged out a 19–17 win, yet the Seahawks' then 11–2 record was still best in the conference. The penultimate game, against the Arizona Cardinals, was Seattle's attempt to continue their at-home winning streak to 15 games (record started in Week 2 of the 2012 season). Although the Seahawks had won their three prior meetings, including one earlier in the year, the Cardinals had steadily improved during the season. The at-home win streak did not reach 15. The Cardinals won, and Seattle suffered its third loss of the year. Their regular-season finale, against the St. Louis Rams, established a new at-home streak of one, and Carroll concluded the regular season at 13–3. The number one team (and playoff seed) in the NFC, Carroll matched Mike Holmgren's 2005 season of the same record, tying for the best in Seattle history. The Seahawks defeated the Saints in the of the playoffs by a score of 23-15. In the , cornerback Richard Sherman tipped a Colin Kaepernick pass into the waiting arms of Malcolm Smith to secure a 23-17 win over the 49ers. It was later dubbed the Immaculate Deflection.


title: Pete Carroll

text: On February 2, 2014, Carroll led the Seattle Seahawks to their first Super Bowl win in franchise history after defeating the Denver Broncos, 43–8, in Super Bowl XLVIII. Carroll joined Barry Switzer and Jimmy Johnson as the only coaches to win both an NCAA championship and a Super Bowl. At age 62, Carroll was the third-oldest coach to win a Super Bowl. Tom Coughlin was 65 when his Giants won Super Bowl XLVI and Dick Vermeil was 63 when the St. Louis Rams won Super Bowl XXXIV.


title: Pete Carroll

text: The following season, the Seahawks started off their quest to repeat as champions with a 36–16 defeat of the Green Bay Packers on "Thursday Night Football" in the first game of the NFL season. A Super Bowl XLVIII rematch came in Week 3, with Seattle again defeating Peyton Manning and the Broncos, 26–20 in overtime. However, losses to San Diego, Dallas, St. Louis, and Kansas City caused the defending champions to start the season with a 6–4 record, three games behind the division leading Cardinals. After a team meeting following a Week 11 loss, the Seahawks finished the regular season 6–0 to finish with a 12–4 record. As the #1 seed in the playoffs, the Seahawks beat the Panthers in the , 31–17, to get to their second straight NFC Championship. After trailing 19–7 to the Packers with just over two minutes remaining in the , the Seahawks launched a furious comeback to force overtime. On the first possession of overtime, Russell Wilson hit wide receiver Jermaine Kearse for a game-winning touchdown that sent the Seahawks to their second straight Super Bowl. On February 1, 2015, Carroll's Seahawks lost Super Bowl XLIX to Carroll's former team, the New England Patriots, 28–24. With 25 seconds to go on second down and goal at the Patriots' 1-yard line, and the Seahawks trailing by four points, Carroll called for a pass play. Wilson's pass was intercepted by Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler on the goal line, and the Patriots ran out the clock. Some have called Carroll's play-call on the play "the worst play-call in NFL history."


title: Pete Carroll

text: The 2015 offseason was one full of criticism for Carroll, Wilson, and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell after the ending of Super Bowl XLIX. However, Carroll was praised by much of the national media for how he handled the adversity following the game. The Seahawks began the 2015 season by blowing fourth quarter leads to St. Louis, Green Bay, Cincinnati, Carolina, and Arizona. After losing at home on "Sunday Night Football" to the division leading Cardinals, Seattle sat at 4–5. However, Carroll rejuvenated his team enough to win their next five games, putting the Seahawks at 9–5 and clinching a playoff berth. Russell Wilson became the first quarterback to throw 19 or more touchdown passes without any interceptions over five or more wins. The Seahawks ended the regular season with a revengeful win against Arizona, beating the NFC West champions 36–6 on the road. Seattle entered the postseason as the #6 seed, winning its against the Minnesota Vikings after Vikings kicker Blair Walsh missed a 27-yard field goal for a final score of 10–9. The Seahawks would later fall to the Carolina Panthers in the 31–24, after being down 31–0 at the half, and as a result, the Seahawks would not reach a third consecutive Super Bowl appearance.


title: Pete Carroll

text: On July 25, 2016, Carroll signed a three-year contract extension with the Seahawks that would keep him in Seattle through the 2019 season. Carroll's Seahawks once again had high expectations leading into the 2016 season, but injuries to key players on both sides of the ball eventually became too much to overcome. The Seahawks were able to start the season with a 4–1 record, despite Russell Wilson playing with a hurt ankle sustained in the season opener against the Miami Dolphins. In Week 10, the Seahawks travelled to New England to play the Patriots for the first time since the Super Bowl XLIX loss, and came away with a 31–24 victory to push the Seahawks to 6–2–1. Carroll notched his 100th regular-season win the following week against the Eagles. The Seahawks clinched the NFC West in Week 15, following a 24–3 victory over the Rams. It was Carroll's fourth NFC West division title in his seven seasons with the team, and sixth playoff appearance. In the , the Seahawks dominated the Detroit Lions in a 26-6 victory. The victory extended Seattle's playoff home game win streak to 10 consecutive wins, 6 of which have come under Carroll. The Seahawks were eliminated in the for the second straight year in 2016, losing 36–20 to the Atlanta Falcons. In his season-ending press conference, Carroll revealed that cornerback Richard Sherman had been playing with a "significant" MCL injury, which attracted attention because Sherman had not been listed on the injury report throughout the season.


title: Pete Carroll

text: In his eighth season with the Seahawks, Carroll led the team to a 9–7 record. The team finished second in the NFC West but missed out on the playoffs for only the second time in Carroll's time with the Seahawks.


title: Pete Carroll

text: In the 2018 season, Carroll helped lead the Seahawks to a 10–6 record and a second-place finish in the NFC West. The team returned to the playoffs, where they lost 24–22 to the Dallas Cowboys in the . On October 14, 2018, Carroll reached win number 91 over the Oakland Raiders, becoming the Seahawks' all-time wins leader (including postseason), passing Mike Holmgren with a record of 91–56–1 at that point.


title: Pete Carroll

text: On September 15, 2019, which was his 68th birthday, Carroll won his 100th game as the Seahawks head coach, defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers 28–26. Carroll's Seahawks finished the season at 11–5, finishing second in the NFC West behind the 13–3 49ers.


title: Pete Carroll

text: As a fifth seed in the playoffs, the Seahawks defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 17–9 in the , before being eliminated in the by the Green Bay Packers 28–23. Carroll coached the NFC team in the 2020 Pro Bowl.


title: Pete Carroll

text: Carroll was fined by the NFL for not properly wearing a face mask, as required for coaches during the COVID-19 pandemic, during a Week 2 game in the 2020 NFL season on September 21, 2020. On November 8, 2020, Carroll and the Seahawks agreed to a four-year contract extension. They ended the season with a 12–4 record and won their first division title since 2016, but lost to the Los Angeles Rams in the .


title: Pete Carroll

text: Carroll and the Seahawks named Rams passing game coordinator Shane Waldron to the offensive coordinator position. Under Waldron, Seattle's offense got off to a hot start, with quarterback Russell Wilson completing 18 of 23 passes for 254 yards and four touchdowns as the Seahawks won 28–16 to the Indianapolis Colts, finishing with a passer rating of 152.3. The following week against the Tennessee Titans, the Seahawks lost 30–33 in overtime to the Tennessee Titans, after blowing a 30–16 lead in the fourth quarter. In Week 3 against the Minnesota Vikings, the Seahawks raced to a 17–7 lead early in the second quarter before their offense was shut out by the Vikings for the rest of the game; Seattle lost 17–30. In Week 5 against the Los Angeles Rams on "Thursday Night Football", quarterback Russell Wilson broke his finger on a sack by Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald, and he was ruled out as backup Geno Smith relieved him in the 17–26 loss.


title: Pete Carroll

text: Wilson was placed on injured reserve later that same day, missing a start for the first time in his NFL career. Carroll and the Seahawks went 1–2 in Wilson's absence before hitting the bye week. Wilson was activated off injured reserve on November 12 ahead of their game against the Green Bay Packers. Wilson and the Seahawks were blanked in the 0–17 loss for the first time since he became their starting quarterback, completing just 20 of 40 passes for 161 yards and two interceptions.


title: Pete Carroll

text: Carroll's Seahawks rallied to finish the season by winning four of their final six games, with one loss coming by just one point. During the season, the Seahawks' first such losing season since 2011, Carroll candidly admitted to the media that he "probably wouldn't have been here a long time" without his longtime starting quarterback. Despite the disappointing season, it was reported on January 16, 2022, that Carroll and general manager John Schneider would retain their jobs for the 2022 season.


title: Pete Carroll

text: In the offseason, Russell Wilson was traded to the Denver Broncos. Carroll later named Geno Smith the starter for the regular season opener, which would be against Wilson and the Broncos. The Seahawks defeated the Broncos 17–16.


title: Pete Carroll

text: On offense, Carroll is known for using aggressive play-calling that is open to trick plays as well as "going for it" on 4th down instead of punting the ball away. Because of his aggressive style, the USC band gave him the nickname "Big Balls Pete". At USC home games, when Carroll decided to go for it on 4th down, the USC band would start a chant of "Big Balls Pete" that carried over to the students section and the alumni.


title: Pete Carroll

text: On defense, Carroll favors a bend-but-don't-break scheme of preventing the big plays: allowing opposing teams to get small yardage but trying to keep the plays in front of his defenders.


title: Pete Carroll

text: Carroll draws coaching inspiration from the 1974 book "The Inner Game of Tennis" by tennis coach W. Timothy Gallwey, which he picked up as graduate student at the University of the Pacific; he summarizes the philosophy he took from the book as "all about clearing the clutter in the interactions between your conscious and subconscious mind", enabled "through superior practice and a clear approach. Focus, clarity and belief in yourself are what allows [sic] you to express your ability without discursive thoughts and concerns." He wrote a foreword for a later edition, noting that athletes "must clear their minds of all confusion and earn the ability to let themselves play freely." He also cites influences from psychologists Abraham Maslow and Carl Jung, Buddhist meditation master Chögyam Trungpa, and Zen master D. T. Suzuki.


title: Pete Carroll

text: After he was fired by the New England Patriots, Carroll read a book by former UCLA basketball coach John Wooden which heavily influenced how he would run his future program at USC: emulating Wooden, Carroll decided to engineer his program in the way that best exemplified his personal philosophy. He decided his philosophy was best summarized as "I'm a competitor". As a fan of the Grateful Dead, Carroll then tied Wooden's thoughts into those by Jerry Garcia, and decided that he wanted his football program to not be the best, but the only program following his competitive philosophy.


title: Pete Carroll

text: Carroll is known for his high-energy and often pleasant demeanor when coaching. In explaining his enthusiasm, Carroll has stated, "I always think something good's just about to happen." In a 2005 interview, Carroll explained his motivation:


title: Pete Carroll

text: Carroll has been known to plan elaborate surprises and pranks during practice to lighten the mood and reward the players; notable examples include using a Halloween practice to stage a fake argument and subsequent falling death of running back LenDale White, having defensive end Everson Griffen arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department during a team meeting for "physically abusing" freshman offensive linemen, and several pranks involving USC alumnus and comedic actor Will Ferrell. During practices, Carroll frequently gets involved doing drills: running sprints and routes as well as throwing the ball. Under Carroll, nearly all USC practices were open to the public, a move that was uncommon among programs; he believed that having fans at practice helped his team prepare, making mundane drills seem more interesting, causing players to perform at a high level when they know they have an audience and preparing them for larger crowds on game days.


title: Pete Carroll

text: Despite his penchant for humor, Carroll's USC program had strictly prescribed routines that covered what players were allowed to eat, the vocabulary they used, and the theme of daily practices. Under his tenure, days had descriptive nicknames like Tell the Truth Monday, Competition Tuesday, Turnover Wednesday.


title: Pete Carroll

text: Carroll favorably compared college recruiting to any other competition, and enjoys the ability to recruit talent, which he was unable to do in the NFL. He likens being a college head coach to being both the "coach and general manager." He assigned all jersey numbers to his players, an assignment he takes seriously. When he was an incoming freshman at Pacific, he wanted No. 40, the number he had worn in all sports growing up; however, Pacific had retired the number in honor of quarterback/safety Eddie LeBaron, so Carroll ended up with 46.


title: Pete Carroll

text: After moving to Los Angeles, Carroll was affected by the number of gang-related murders taking place in poorer areas. In April 2003, Carroll helped organize a meeting with political leaders, high-ranking law enforcement officials and representatives from social service, education and faith-based communities at USC's Heritage Hall for a brainstorming session. The result was the founding of A Better LA, a charity devoted to reducing violence in targeted urban areas of Los Angeles.


title: Pete Carroll

text: In April 2009, Carroll launched CampPete.com, a multi-player online game "billed as a ground-breaking Web site aimed at bringing Coach Carroll's unique Win Forever philosophy to kids all over the country by taking advantage of one of the hottest technology trends online, the virtual world." The site, which can be accessed by creating a virtual avatar, includes arcade-style games, motivational messages from Coach Carroll and a sports trivia section as well as a collection of virtual football skills workshops for kids. A portion of the proceeds from CampPete.com go to support A Better LA.


title: Pete Carroll

text: Carroll's wife Glena played volleyball at the University of the Pacific Together the couple have three children: elder son Brennan, daughter Jaime, and younger son Nate. Both Brennan and Nate have been part of the Seattle Seahawks coaching staff.


title: Pete Carroll

text: Brennan Carroll played tight end at the University of Pittsburgh after transferring from University of Delaware; he graduated from Pitt in 2001 and joined his father as a graduate assistant. Jaime Carroll started attending USC in the fall of 2000, several months before her father was hired as football coach; she was a player on the Women of Troy's women's volleyball team. Nathan Carroll graduated from USC. In 2010, Nathan joined his father as an assistant for the Seahawks.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: The Gulf Cartel (, "Golfos", or CDG) is a criminal syndicate and drug trafficking organization in Mexico, and perhaps one of the oldest organized crime groups in the country. It is currently based in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, directly across the U.S. border from Brownsville, Texas.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: Their network is international, and is believed to have dealings with crime groups in Europe, West Africa, Asia, Central America, South America, and the United States. Besides drug trafficking, the Gulf Cartel operates through protection rackets, assassinations, extortions, kidnappings, and other criminal activities. The members of the Gulf Cartel are known for intimidating the population and for being particularly violent.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: Although its founder Juan Nepomuceno Guerra smuggled alcohol in large quantities to the United States during the Prohibition era, and heroin for over 40 years, it was not until the 1980s that the cartel was shifted to trafficking cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana under the command of Juan Nepomuceno Guerra and Juan García Ábrego.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: The Gulf Cartel, a drug cartel based in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico, was founded in the 1930s by Juan Nepomuceno Guerra. Originally known as the Matamoros Cartel (Spanish: "Cártel de Matamoros"), the Gulf Cartel initially smuggled alcohol and other illegal goods into the U.S. Once the Prohibition era ended, the criminal group controlled gambling houses, prostitution rings, a car theft network, and other illegal smuggling. It grew significantly in the 1970s under the leadership of kingpin Juan García Ábrego.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: By the 1980s, García Ábrego began incorporating cocaine into the drug trafficking operations and started to have the upper hand on what was now considered the Gulf Cartel, the greatest criminal dynasty in the US-Mexico border. By negotiating with the Cali Cartel, García Ábrego was able to secure 50% of the shipment out of Colombia as payment for delivery, instead of the US$1,500 per kilogram they were previously receiving. This renegotiation, however, forced Garcia Ábrego to guarantee the product's arrival from Colombia to its destination. Instead, he created warehouses along the Mexican's northern border to preserve hundreds of tons of cocaine; this allowed him to create a new distribution network and increase his political influence. In addition to trafficking drugs, García Ábrego would ship cash to be laundered, in the millions. Around 1994, it was estimated that the Gulf Cartel handled as much as "one-third of all cocaine shipments" into the United States from the Cali Cartel suppliers. During the 1990s, the PGR(Procuraduría General de la República), the Mexican attorney general's office, estimated that the Gulf Cartel was "worth over US$10 billion."


title: Gulf Cartel

text: García Ábrego's ties extended beyond the Mexican government corruption and into the United States. With the arrest of one of García Ábrego's traffickers, Juan Antonio Ortiz, it became known the cartel would ship tons of cocaine in the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) buses between the years of 1986 to 1990. The buses made great transportation, as Antonio Ortiz noted since they were never stopped at the border.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: It also became known that, in addition to the INS bus scam, García Ábrego had a "special deal" with members of the Texas National Guard who would truck tons of cocaine and marijuana from South Texas to Houston for the cartel.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: Garcia Abrego's reach became known when a United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent named Claude de la O, in 1986, stated in testimony against García Ábrego that he received over US$100,000 in bribes and had leaked information that could have endangered an FBI informant as well as Mexican journalists. In 1989 Claude was removed from the case for unknown reasons, retiring a year later. García Ábrego bribed the agent in an attempt to gather more information on U.S. law enforcement operations.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: García Ábrego's business had grown to such length that the FBI placed him on the Top Ten Most Wanted in 1995. He was the first drug trafficker to be on that list. On 14 January 1996, García Ábrego was arrested outside a ranch in Monterrey, Nuevo León. He was quickly extradited to the United States where he stood trial eight months after his arrest. García Ábrego was convicted for 22 counts of money laundering, drug possession and drug trafficking. Jurors also ordered the seizure of $350 million of García Ábrego's assets — $75 million more than what was previously planned. Juan García Ábrego is currently serving 11 life terms in a maximum security prison in Colorado, U.S. In 1996, it was disclosed that García Ábrego's organization paid millions of dollars in bribes to politicians and law enforcement officers for his protection. It was later proven after his arrest that the deputy attorney general in charge of Mexico's federal Judicial Police had accumulated more than US$9 million for protecting García Ábrego.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: García Ábrego's arrest was even subject to allegations of corruption. It is believed the Mexican government knew all García Ábrego's whereabouts all along and had refused to arrest him due to information he possessed about the extent of corruption within the government. The arresting officer, a FJP commander, is believed to have received a bullet-proof Mercury Grand Marquis and US$500,000 from a rival cartel for enacting the arrest of García Ábrego.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: Further theories put forward to allege the arrest of García Ábrego was to satisfy U.S. demands and meet certification, from the Department of Justice (DOJ), as a trade partner, the vote set to take place on 1 March. García Ábrego was apprehended on 14 January 1996, and Mexico shortly after received certification on 1 March.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: Upon his capture outside the city of Monterrey, Nuevo León, the drug lord was flown to Mexico City where U.S. federal agent took him on a private plane to Houston, Texas. Wearing slacks and a striped shirt, García Ábrego was immediately extradited to the United States where he was interviewed by an FBI agent, and confessed to have "ordered people murdered and tortured," bribed top Mexican officials, and smuggled tons of narcotics into the United States. His prosecutors, however, tried García Ábrego as a U.S. citizen because he also had an American birth certificate, although Mexican authorities claimed the certificate was "fraudulent." He also had an official birth certificate that claimed García Ábrego was indeed born in Mexico. According to "The Brownsville Herald", García Ábrego went into the courtroom grinning and talking animatedly with his lawyers who helped him translate his words from Spanish into the English language. Hours after the judge told García Ábrego that he was going to spend the rest of his life in prison, the death penalty was out of the question for the prosecutors.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: According to the factual documents presented in court on 8 May 1998, the Matamoros-based criminal syndicate of the Gulf Cartel was responsible for trafficking tremendous amounts of narcotics into the United States from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s, and García Ábrego was given eleven life sentences in prison. During the four-week trial, 84 witnesses, ranging from "law enforcement officers to convicted drug smugglers," confessed that García Ábrego smuggled loads of Colombian cocaine on planes and then stored them in several border cities along the Mexico–United States border before being smuggled to the Rio Grande Valley.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: In addition, it was brought up that García Ábrego had previously been arrested in Brownsville, Texas for six-year-old auto theft charges, but was released later with no charges whatsoever. Two men from the Rio Grande Valley were charged before the drug lord's arrest for laundering more than $30 million for García Ábrego. He was also held responsible in 1984 for the massacre of 6 people in La Clínica Raya, a hospital where rival drug members were being treated, and was also blamed for the massacre of the Cereso prison in 1991, where 18 prisoners were slain—both in Matamoros, Tamaulipas.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: Following Ábrego's 1996 arrest by Mexican authorities and subsequent deportation to the United States, a power vacuum was left and several top members fought for leadership.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: Humberto García Ábrego, brother of Juan García Ábrego, tried to take the lead of the Gulf Cartel, but ultimately failed in his attempt. He did not have the leadership skills nor the support of the Colombian drug-provisioners. In addition, he was under observation and was widely known, since his surname meant more of the same. He was to be replaced by Óscar Malherbe de León and Raúl Valladares del Ángel, until their arrest a short time later, causing several cartel lieutenants to fight for the leadership. Malherbe tried to bribe officials $2 million for his release, but it was denied. Hugo Baldomero Medina Garza, known as "El Señor Padrino de los Tráilers" (the lord of the Trailers), is considered one of the most important members in the rearticulation of the Gulf Cartel. He was one of the top officials of the cartel for more than 40 years, trafficking about 20 tons of cocaine to the United States each month. His luck ended in November 2000 when he was captured in Tampico, Tamaulipas and imprisoned in La Palma. After Medina Garza's arrest, his cousin Adalberto Garza Dragustinovis was investigated for allegedly forming part of the Gulf Cartel and for money-laundering, but the case is still open. The next in line was Sergio Gómez alias "El Checo", however, his leadership was short-lived when he was assassinated in April 1996 in Valle Hermoso, Tamaulipas. After this, Osiel Cárdenas Guillén took control of the cartel in July 1999 after assassinating Salvador Gómez Herrera alias "El Chava", co-leader of the Gulf Cartel and close friend of him, earning his name as the "Mata Amigos" (Friend Killer).


title: Gulf Cartel

text: As confrontations with rival groups heated up, Osiel Cárdenas Guillén sought and recruited over 30 deserters of the Mexican Army's elite Grupo Aeromóvil de Fuerzas Especiales (GAFE) to form part of the cartel's armed wing. Los Zetas, as they are known, served as the hired private mercenary army of the Gulf Cartel. Nevertheless, after the arrest and extradition of Cárdenas, internal struggles led to a rupture between the Gulf and the Zetas.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: In 1997 the Gulf Cartel began to recruit military personnel whom Jesús Gutiérrez Rebollo, an Army General of that time, had assigned as representatives from the PGR offices in certain states across Mexico. After his imprisonment a short time later, Jorge Madrazo Cuéllar created the National Public Security System (SNSP), to fight the drug cartels along the U.S.–Mexico border. After Osiel Cárdenas Guillén took full control of the Gulf Cartel in 1999, he found himself in a no-holds-barred fight to keep his notorious organization and leadership untouched, and sought out members of the Mexican Army Special Forces to become the military armed-wing of the Gulf Cartel. His goal was to protect himself from rival drug cartels and from the Mexican military, to perform vital functions as the leader of the most powerful drug cartel in Mexico. Among his first contacts was Arturo Guzmán Decena, an Army lieutenant who was reportedly asked by Cárdenas to look for the "best men possible." Consequently, Guzmán Decenas deserted from the Armed Forces and brought more than 30 army deserters to form part of Cárdenas' new criminal paramilitary wing. They were enticed with salaries much higher than those of the Mexican Army. Among the original defectors were Jaime González Durán, Jesús Enrique Rejón Aguilar, Miguel Treviño Morales, and Heriberto Lazcano, who would later become the supreme leader of the independent cartel of Los Zetas. The creation of Los Zetas brought a new era of drug trafficking in Mexico, and little did Cárdenas know that he was creating the most violent drug cartel in the country. Between 2001 and 2008, the organization of the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas was collectively known as La Compañía ("The Company").


title: Gulf Cartel

text: One of the first missions of Los Zetas was to eradicate Los Chachos, a group of drug traffickers under the orders of the Milenio Cartel, who disputed the drug corridors of Tamaulipas with the Gulf Cartel in 2003. This gang was controlled by Dionisio Román García Sánchez alias "El Chacho", who had decided to betray the Gulf Cartel and switch his alliance with the Tijuana Cartel; however, he was eventually killed by Los Zetas. Once Cárdenas consolidated his position and supremacy, he expanded the responsibilities of Los Zetas, and as years passed, they became much more important for the Gulf Cartel. They began to organize kidnappings; impose taxes, collect debts, and operate protection rackets; control the extortion business; securing cocaine supply and trafficking routes known as "plazas" (zones) and executing its foes, often with grotesque savagery. In response to the rising power of the Gulf Cartel, the rival Sinaloa Cartel established a heavily armed, well-trained enforcer group known as Los Negros. The group operated similar to Los Zetas, but with less complexity and success. There is a circle of experts who believe that the start of the Mexican Drug War did not begin in 2006 (when Felipe Calderón sent troops to Michoacán to stop the increasing violence), but in 2004 in the border city of Nuevo Laredo, when the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas fought off the Sinaloa Cartel and Los Negros.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: In 2002, there were three main divisions of the Cartel, all ruled over by Cárdenas and led by: Jorge Eduardo "El Coss" Costilla Sanchez, Antonio "Tony Tormenta" Cárdenas Guillen, and Heriberto "El Lazca" Lazcano Lazcano.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: Upon the arrest of the Gulf Cartel boss Cárdenas in 2003 and his extradition in 2007, the panorama for Los Zetas changed—they started to become synonymous with the Gulf Cartel, and their influences grew within the organization. Los Zetas began to grow independently from the Gulf Cartel, and eventually a rupture occurred between them in early 2010.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: On 9 November 1999, two U.S. agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and FBI were threatened at gunpoint by Cárdenas Guillén and approximately fifteen of his henchmen in Matamoros. The two agents traveled to Matamoros with an informant to gather intelligence on the operations of the Gulf Cartel. Cárdenas Guillén demanded the agents and the informant to get out of their vehicle, but they refused to obey his orders. The incident escalated as Cárdenas Guillén threatened to kill them if they did not comply and as his gunmen prepared to shoot. The agents tried to reason with him that killing U.S. federal agents would bring a massive manhunt from the U.S. government. Cárdenas Guillén eventually let them go and threatened to kill them if they ever returned to his home turf.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: The standoff triggered a massive law enforcement effort to crackdown the leadership structure of the Gulf Cartel. Both the Mexican and U.S. government increased their efforts to apprehend Cárdenas Guillén. Before the standoff, he was regarded as a minor player in the international drug trade, but this incident catapulted his reputation and made him one of the most-wanted criminals. The FBI and the DEA mounted numerous charges against him and issued a US$2 million bounty for his arrest.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: The former leader of the Gulf Cartel, Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, was captured in the city of Matamoros, Tamaulipas, on 14 March 2003, in a shootout between the Mexican military and Gulf Cartel gunmen. He was one of the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, which was offering $2 million for his capture. According to government archives, this six-month military operation was planned and carried out in secret; the only people informed were the President Vicente Fox, the Secretary of Defense in Mexico, Ricardo Clemente Vega García, and Mexico's Attorney General, Rafael Macedo de la Concha. After his capture, Cárdenas was sent to the federal, high-security prison La Palma. However, it was believed that Cárdenas still controlled the Gulf Cartel from prison, and was later extradited to the United States, where he was sentenced to 25 years in a prison in Houston, Texas for money laundering, drug trafficking and death threats to U.S. federal agents. Reports from the PGR and "El Universal" state that while in prison, Cárdenas and Benjamín Arellano Félix, from the Tijuana Cartel, formed an alliance. Moreover, through handwritten notes, Cárdenas gave orders on the movement of drugs along Mexico and to the United States, approved executions, and signed forms to allow the purchase of police forces. And while his brother Antonio Cárdenas Guillén led the Gulf Cartel, Cárdenas still made vital orders from La Palma through messages from his lawyers and guards.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: The arrest and extradition of Cárdenas, however, caused for several top lieutenants from both the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas to fight over important drug corridors to the United States, especially the cities of Matamoros, Nuevo Laredo, Reynosa, and Tampico—all situated in the state of Tamaulipas. They also fought for coastal cities Acapulco, Guerrero and Cancún, Quintana Roo; the state capital of Monterrey, Nuevo León, and the states of Veracruz and San Luis Potosí. Through his violence and intimidation, Heriberto Lazcano took control of both Los Zetas and the Gulf Cartel after Cardenas' extradition. Lieutenants that were once loyal to Cárdenas began following the commands of Lazcano, who tried to reorganize the cartel by appointing several lieutenants to control specific territories.Morales Treviño was appointed to look over Nuevo León; Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sánchez in Matamoros; Héctor Manuel Sauceda Gamboa, nicknamed "El Karis", took control of Nuevo Laredo; Gregorio Sauceda Gamboa, known as "El Goyo", along with his brother Arturo, took control of the Reynosa plaza; Arturo Basurto Peña, alias "El Grande", and Iván Velázquez-Caballero alias "El Talibán" took control of Quintana Roo and Guerrero; Alberto Sánchez Hinojosa, alias "Comandante Castillo", took over Tabasco. However, continual disagreement was leading the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas into an inevitable rupture.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: In 2007, Cárdenas was extradited to the United States and charged with the involvement of conspiracies to traffic large amounts of marijuana and cocaine, violating the "continuing-criminal-enterprise statute" (also known as the "drug kingpin statute"), and for threatening two U.S. federal officers. The standoff the two agents had with the drug lord in 1999 in the city of Matamoros, Tamaulipas led for the U.S. to indict Cárdenas and pressure the Mexican government to capture him. In 2010 he was finally sentenced to 25 years in prison after being charged with 22 federal charges; the courtroom was locked and the public prevented from witnessing the proceeding. The proceedings took place in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas in the border city of Brownsville, Texas. Cárdenas has been isolated from interacting with other prisoners in the supermax prison he is in.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: Nearly $30 million of the former drug lord's assets were distributed among several Texan law enforcement agencies. In exchange for another life-sentence, Cárdenas agreed to collaborate with U.S. agents in intelligence information. The U.S. federal court awarded two helicopters owned by Cárdenas to the Business Development Bank of Canada and the GE Canada Equipment Financing respectively, and both of them were brought from "drug proceeds".


title: Gulf Cartel

text: It is unclear which of the twothe Gulf Cartel or Los Zetasstarted the conflict that led to their break up. It is clear, however, that after the capture and extradition of Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, Los Zetas outclassed the Gulf Cartel in revenue, membership, and influence. Some sources reveal that as a result of the supremacy of Los Zetas, the Gulf Cartel felt threatened by the growing force of their enforcer group and decided to curtail their influence, but eventually failed in their attempt, instigating a war. According to "narco-banners" left by the Gulf Cartel in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, and Reynosa, Tamaulipas, the reason for their rupture was that Los Zetas had expanded their operations to include extortion, kidnapping, assassinations, theft, and other actions with which it disagreed. Unwilling to stand for such abuse, Los Zetas responded and countered the accusations by posting their own banners throughout Tamaulipas. They pointedly noted that they had carried out executions and kidnappings under orders of the Gulf Cartel when they served as their enforcers, and they were created by them for that sole purpose. Also, Los Zetas mentioned that the Gulf Cartel also kills innocent civilians, and then blames them for their atrocities.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: Nevertheless, other sources also reveal that Antonio Cárdenas Guillén, brother of Osiel and one of the successors of the Gulf Cartel, was addicted to gambling, sex, and drugs, leading Los Zetas to consider his leadership as a threat to the organization. Other reports mention, however, that the rupture occurred due to a disagreement about who would take on the leadership of the cartel after the extradition of Osiel. The candidates of the Gulf Cartel were Antonio Cárdenas and Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sánchez, while Los Zetas wanted the leadership of their current head, Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano. Other sources, however, mention that the Gulf Cartel began looking to form a truce with their Sinaloa Cartel rivals, and Los Zetas did not want to recognize the treaty settlement, which led them to act independently and eventually break apart. On the other hand, other sources reveal that Los Zetas separated from the Gulf Cartel to ally with Beltrán-Leyva Cartel, which led to conflict between them. Other sources mention that what initiated the conflict between them was when Samuel Flores Borrego, alias "El Metro 3", lieutenant of the Gulf Cartel, killed Sergio Peña Mendoza, alias "El Concorde 3", lieutenant of Los Zetas, due to a disagreement for the drug corridor of Reynosa, Tamaulipas, whom both protected. Soon after his death, Los Zetas demanded the Gulf Cartel to hand over the killer, but they didn't, and observers believe that triggered the war.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: Tamaulipas was mostly spared from the violence until early 2010, when the Gulf Cartel's enforcers, Los Zetas, split from and turned against the Gulf Cartel, sparking a bloody turf war. When the hostilities began, the Gulf organization joined forces with its former rivals, the Sinaloa Cartel and La Familia Michoacana, aiming to take out Los Zetas. Consequently, Los Zetas allied with the Juárez Cartel, the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel and the Tijuana Cartel.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: Osiel Cárdenas' brother, Antonio Cárdenas Guillén, along with Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sánchez ("El Coss"), a former policeman, filled in the vacuum left by Osiel and became the leaders of the Gulf Cartel. The death of Antonio allowed for Costilla Sánchez to become the co-leader of the Gulf Cartel and head of the Metros, one of the two factions within the Gulf Cartel. Mario Cárdenas Guillén, brother of Osiel and Antonio, is the other leader of Gulf Cartel and head of the Rojos, the other faction within the Gulf Cartel and the parallel version of the Metros.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: Costilla was often viewed as the "strongest leader" of the two, but collaborated with Antonio Cárdenas, who acted as representative of his jailed brother. However, Antonio died in an eight-hour shooting with the Mexican government forces on 5 November 2010, in the border city of Matamoros, Tamaulipas. Government sources claimed that this operation—where more than 660 marines, 17 vehicles, and 3 helicopters participated—left 8 dead: three marines, one soldier, and four gunmen, including Antonio Cárdenas. Other sources mention that one news reporter was also killed in the crossfire. This military-led operation was a result of more than six months of intelligence work. "Milenio Television" mentioned that the Mexican authorities had tried to apprehend Cárdenas Guillén twice before this incident, but that his personal gunmen had distracted the Mexican forces and allowed him to be escorted in his armored vehicle.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: The confrontations started around 10:00 am, and extended to 06:00 pm, around the time Cárdenas Guilén was killed. The intense shootings provoked the temporary closure of three international bridges in Matamoros, along with the University of Texas at Brownsville, just across the border. Public transportation and school classes in Matamoros were canceled, along with the suspension of activities throughout the municipality, since the cartel members hijacked the units of public transport and made dozens of roadblocks to prevent the mobilization of the soldiers, marines, and federal police forces. The street confrontations generated a wave of panic among the population and caused the publication and broadcast of messages through social networks like Twitter and Facebook, reporting the clashes between authorities and the cartel members. When the Mexican authorities reached the spot where Antonio Cárdenas ("Tony Tormenta") was present, the gunmen received the soldiers and cops with grenades and high-calibre shots. Reports mention that Antonio Cárdenas was being protected by the Los Escorpiones ("The Scorpions"), the alleged armed wing of the Gulf Cartel and the personal army of Antonio Cárdenas, who was serving as snipers and bodyguards for him. "La Jornada" newspaper mentioned that over 80 SUV's packed with gunmen fought to protect Cárdenas Guillén, and over 300 grenades were used in the shootout that day. And even after the drug lord was killed, the roadblocks continued throughout the rest of the day.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: "The Guardian" newspaper mentioned that in a YouTube video, a convoy of SUV's filled with gunmen and pickups packed with marines were seen in a chase through the streets of Matamoros, Tamaulipas. And although there wasn't any visible confrontation between the two, the intensity of the situation was clear through the background noises of grenade explosions and automatic gunfire. A news video from Televisa, also on YouTube, shows images from the confrontations of that day. Moreover, several bystanders also recorded the shootouts.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: Nevertheless, according to the newspapers "The Brownsville Herald" and "The Monitor" from across the border in Brownsville, Texas and McAllen, Texas, around 50 people were killed in the gunfights. Although not confirmed, "KVEO-TV", several online sources and witnesses, along with one law enforcement officer who preferred to keep his name anonymous, mentioned that more than 100 people died that day in Matamoros. The death of Antonio Cárdenas Guillen also caused a spiral of violence in Reynosa, Tamaulipas a number of days after he was killed. Moreover, his death also generated a turf war with Los Zetas in the city of Ciudad Mier, Tamaulipas, resulting in the exodus of more than 95% of its population. Banners written by Los Zetas, the Gulf Cartel's former armed wing, appeared all across Mexico, celebrating the death of Cárdenas Guillén. United States President, Barack Obama, called the President of Mexico, Felipe Calderón, congratulating him and the Mexican forces for the operation in Matamoros, and reiterated his effort against organized crime.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: After this incident, there was a huge division of opinions over the fate of the Gulf Cartel. Some experts believed that the death of Antonio Cárdenas would be dreadful for the Gulf Cartel, and that Los Zetas would overthrow them and eventually take control of Tamaulipas. Others explained how his death allowed Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sánchez to take full directive of the cartel, and that would tighten relations with Colombia and straighten the Gulf Cartel's path, something quite difficult with Antonio Cárdenas as co-leader.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: Los Escorpiones, also called Grupo Escorpios, ("The Scorpions"), was believed to be the mercenary group that protected Antonio Cárdenas Guillén, the former leader of the organization. According to reports by the Mexican government, Los Escorpiones was created by Antonio Cárdenas Guillen and is composed of over 60 civilians, former police officers, and ex-military officials. According to "El Universal", there are several music videos on YouTube that exalt the power of this armed group through "narcocorridos". After the rupture between the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas (which until then had served as the cartel's armed wing), Los Escorpiones became the armed wing of the entire Gulf organization. The first mention of Los Escorpiones on the media was in 2008, when "El Universal" wrote an article about some "protected witnesses" from the Gulf Cartel who denounced the alliance between the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel and Los Zetas to the Mexican authorities, and that the Gulf Cartel had created Los Escorpiones to stop and balance the growing hegemony of Los Zetas.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: However, his brother Osiel Cárdenas Guillén disapproved the existence of this mercenary group, since he had created Los Zetas, the parallel version of Los Escorpiones, and they had turned against the organization. "El Universal" reported that Mexican authorities identified the gunmen that were engaging in confrontations against the troops in Matamoros, Tamaulipas as members of the Los Escorpiones group. Along with Antonio Cárdenas, the following members of Los Escorpiones were killed: Sergio Antonio Fuentes, alias "El Tyson" or "Escorpión 1"; Raúl Marmolejo Gómez, alias "Escorpión 18"; Hugo Lira, alias "Escorpión 26"; and Refugio Adalberto Vargas Cortés, alias "Escorpión 42". The arrests of Marco Antonio Cortez Rodríguez alias "Escorpión 37" and of Josué González Rodríguez alias "Escorpión 43"—the two who were hospitalized after the shootout of 5 November 2010—allowed for the Mexican forces to understand the structure of Los Escorpiones.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: In the late 1990s, Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, the former leader of the Gulf cartel, had other similar groups besides Los Zetas established in several cities in Tamaulipas. Each of these groups were identified by their radio codes: "the Rojos" (The Red ones) were based in Reynosa; "the Metros" were headquartered in Matamoros; and "the Lobos" (The wolves) were established in Laredo. The infighting between the Metros and the Rojos of the Gulf cartel began in 2010, when Juan Mejía González, nicknamed "El R-1", was overlooked as the candidate of the regional boss of Reynosa and was sent to the "Frontera Chica," an area that encompasses Miguel Alemán, Camargo and Ciudad Mier – directly across the U.S.–Mexico border from Starr County, Texas. The area that Mejía González wanted was given to Samuel Flores Borrego, suggesting that the Metros were above the Rojos.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: Unconfirmed information released by "The Monitor" indicated that two leaders of the Rojos, Mejía González and Rafael Cárdenas Vela, teamed up to kill Flores Borrego. Cárdenas Vela had held a grudge on Flores Borrego and the Metros because he believed that they had led the Mexican military to track down and kill his uncle Antonio Cárdenas Guillén on 5 November 2010. Other sources indicate that the infighting could have been caused by the suspicions that the Rojos were "too soft" on the Gulf cartel's bitter enemy, Los Zetas. When the Gulf cartel and Los Zetas split in early 2010, some members of the Rojos stayed with the Gulf cartel, while others decided to leave and join the forces of Los Zetas.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: InSight Crime explains that the fundamental disagreement between the Rojos and the Metros was over leadership. Those who were more loyal to the Cárdenas family stayed with the Rojos, while those loyal to Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sánchez, like Flores Borrego, defended the Metros.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: Originally, the Gulf cartel was running smoothly, but the infighting between the two factions in the Gulf cartel triggered when Flores Borrego was killed on 2 September 2011. When the Rojos turned on the Metros, the largest faction in the Gulf cartel, firefights broke throughout Tamaulipas and drug loads were stolen among each other, but the Metros managed to retain control of the major cities that stretched from Matamoros to Miguel Alemán, Tamaulipas.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: Some experts have found it difficult to argue that the Gulf Cartel does not impose a direct threat to the state since they "do not seek political change," and that they only want to be left alone with their business. Observations indicate that the Gulf Cartel controls territories and imposes its own rules—often violent and bloody—over the population. And in doing so, they inherently become a "competitor" with the state, who also claims sovereignty over its territories. Like other drug trafficking organizations, the Gulf Cartel also subverts government institutions, particularly at state and local levels, by using their large profits to bribe officials.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: The Gulf Cartel has important cells operating inside the United States—in Mission, Roma, and Rio Grande City—for example, and their presence is expanding. Thomas A. Shannon, a U.S. diplomat and ambassador, stated that criminal organizations like the Gulf Cartel have "substantially weakened" the institutions in Mexico and Central America, and have generated a surge of violence in the United States. The U.S. National Drug Threat Assessment mentioned that the drug trafficking organizations like the Gulf Cartel tend to be less structured in U.S. than in Mexico, and often rely on street gangs to operate inside the United States. The arrest of several Gulf Cartel lieutenants, along with the drug-related violence and kidnappings, have raised concerns among Texas officials that the drug war in Mexico and the drug cartels are taking hold in Texas. The strong ties the Gulf Cartel has with the prison gangs in the United States have also raised concern to American officials. Reports mention that Mexican drug cartels operate in more than 1,000 cities in the United States. In 2013, high ranking Gulf Cartel member Aurelio Cano Flores became the highest cartel member to be convicted by a U.S. jury in 15 years In January 2020, high-ranking U.S. Gulf Cartel member Jorge Costilla-Sanchez pleaded guilty to an international drug trafficking conspiracy to distribute cocaine and marijuana into the United States.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: The Gulf Cartel is believed to have ties with the 'Ndrangheta, an organized crime group in Italy that also has ties with Los Zetas. Reports indicated that the Gulf Cartel was using the BlackBerry smartphones to communicate with 'Ndrangheta, since the texts are "normally difficult to intercept". In 2009, the Gulf organization concluded that expanding their market opportunities in Europe, combined with the euro strength against the U.S. dollar, justified establishing an extensive network in that continent. The main areas of demand and drug consumption are in Eastern Europe, the successor states of the Soviet Union. In Western Europe, the primarily increase has been in the use of cocaine. Along with the market in the United States, the drug market in Europe is among the most lucrative in the world, where the Mexican drug cartels are believed to have deals with the mafia groups of Europe.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: The Gulf Cartel and other Mexican drug trafficking groups are active in the northern and western parts of Africa. Although cocaine is not grown in Africa, Mexican organizations, such as the Gulf Cartel, are currently exploiting West Africa's struggling rule-of-law caused by war, crime and poverty, to stage and expand supply routes to the increasingly lucrative European illegal drug market.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: The rumors of the broken alliance between the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas began on blogs and mass emails in September 2009, but it remained pretty much the same throughout that year—a rumor. But on 24 February 2010, hundreds of trucks marked with "C.D.G", "XXX", and "M3" (the insignias of the Gulf Cartel) began to hit the streets of northern Tamaulipas. The clash between these two groups first happened in Reynosa, Tamaulipas and then expanded to Nuevo Laredo and Matamoros. The war then spread out through 11 municipalities of Tamaulipas, 9 of them bordering the state of Texas. Soon, the violence generated between these two groups had spread to Tamaulipas' neighboring states of Nuevo León and Veracruz. Their conflict has even occurred on U.S. soil, where the Gulf Cartel killed two Zeta members in Brownsville, Texas on 5 October 2010. In the midsts of violence and panic, local authorities and the media tried to minimize the situation and claim that "nothing was occurring", but the facts were impossible to cover up. Confrontations between these two groups have paralyzed entire cities in broad daylight. Several witnesses claimed that many of the municipalities throughout Tamaulipas were "war zones", and that many businesses and houses were burned down, leaving areas in "total destruction". The bloodbath in Tamaulipas has caused thousands of deaths, but most of shootings and body counts often go unreported. The complexity and territorial advantage of Los Zetas forced the Gulf Cartel to seek for an alliance with the Sinaloa Cartel and La Familia Michoacana; in addition, Stratfor mentioned that these three organizations also united because they hold a "profound hate" for Los Zetas. Consequently, Los Zetas joined forces with the Beltrán Leyva Cartel and the Tijuana Cartel to counterattack the opposing cartels.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: On 10 November 2014, a document from the Mexican government was released to the media and claimed that Los Rojos faction of the Gulf Cartel was planning to ally with Los Zetas. The potential alliance was conducted by Juan Reyes Mejía González (alias "R1"), from the Gulf Cartel; and Rogelio González Pizaña (alias "Z-2"), from Los Zetas. The latter was released from prison months earlier even though he was scheduled to serve 16-years behind bars in January. Authorities believe that González Pizaña reincorporated in organized crime and decided to join with the Gulf Cartel to end the war with Los Zetas, and bring back the "old school" ways when they were together.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: In June 2020, Insight Crime journalist Victoria Dittmar claimed that the Gulf Cartel had undergone "fragmentation" at some point in time. Los Pelones emerged as an independent cartel during this fragmentation as well. However, remnants still exist in Tamaulipas.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: The drug violence and political corruption that has plagued Tamaulipas, the home state of the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas, has fueled thoughts of Tamaulipas becoming a "failed state" and a haven for drug traffickers and criminals of all kinds. The massacre of the 72 migrants and the clandestine mass graves with more than 250 bodies in San Fernando, Tamaulipas, mounted with the assassination of the governor candidate Rodolfo Torre Cantú (2010), the increasing violence generated between drug groups, and the state's inability to ensure tranquility, has led specialists to conclude that "neither the regional nor federal government have control over the territory of Tamaulipas."


title: Gulf Cartel

text: Although drug-related violence has existed since the early beginnings of the Gulf Cartel, it often happened in low-profile levels, while the government agreed to "look the other way" while the drug traffickers went about their business—as long as they behaved. Back in the days of the 71-year rule of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), it was believed that they ran exactly that show: if the drug cartels got off the line, the Mexican government would conduct some arrests, make some disappearances, and the drug lords would get their people straight and back on the line again. After the PRI lost the presidency in 2000 to the National Action Party (PAN), the arrangement between the government and the cartels was lost, as well the "pax mafiosa". Moreover, the state of Tamaulipas was no exception; according to Santiago Creel, a PAN politician and pre-candidate for the 2012 presidency, the PRI in Tamaulipas has protected the Gulf Cartel for years. In addition, "El Universal" newspaper mentions that the narco-corruption in Tamaulipas is due to the fact the opposing political parties, the PAN and the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), rarely win an election and "practically do not exist". PRI's main opposition party, the PAN, claimed that government elections in Tamaulipas are likely to encounter an "organized crime influence."


title: Gulf Cartel

text: The "Excélsior" newspaper reported that the former governors of Tamaulipas, Manuel Cavazos Lerma (1993–1999), Tomás Yarrington (1999–2004), and Eugenio Hernández Flores (2005–2010) have had close ties with the Gulf Cartel. On 30 January 2012, the Attorney General of Mexico issued a communiqué ordering the past three governors of Tamaulipas and their families to remain in the country as they are being investigated for possible cooperation with the Mexican drug cartels. The municipal president of Tampico, Tamaulipas, Óscar Pérez Inguanzo, was arrested 12 November 2011, due to his "improper exercise of public functions and forgery" of certain documents. In addition, "La Jornada" mentions that the Gulf Cartel owns "all of Matamoros", where they act as the State itself and conduct all forms of criminal activities. In mid-2010, Eugenio Hernández Flores, the governor of Tamaulipas and Óscar Luebbert Gutiérrez, the mayor of Reynosa, Tamaulipas, both members of the PRI, were criticized for claiming that there were no armed confrontations in Tamaulipas and that the violence was "only a rumor." Months later, Hernández Flores finally recognized that several parts of Tamaulipas were "being overrun by organized crime violence." Luebbert Gutiérrez later recognized the work of the federal troops and acknowledged that his city was experiencing "an escalation in violence."


title: Gulf Cartel

text: On 5 June 2016, citizens from Tamaulipas elected a governor from the opposition party, Fransico Javier Garcia Cabeza de Vaca member of Accion Nacional (National Action). It is the first time in 87 years, a governor from the opposition wins in the state. He won under the slogan "winds of change are coming" to Tamaulipas. While his election did not have that much substance in a public policy perspective, its rhetoric of a peaceful transition, enabled him to defeat by double digits the candidate from the ruling party, Baltazar Manuel Hinijosa Ochoa.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: Both candidates have and continue to face accusations of receiving illicit money from the Gulf Cartel while being mayors of two border towns. In 1986, according to Proceso, Cabeza de Vaca was arrested for stealing weapons under the orders for a Drug Trafficking Organization (DTOs) of the Gulf Cartel. Cabeza de Vaca is accused by a Bloomberg/El Financiero of having a big and unexplained wealth of 951 million pesos. Cabeza de Vaca is accused of not reporting its total wealth and having properties both in Texas, Tamaulipas, and Mexico City. Cabeza de Vaca has been for 11 years a public servant, which questions according to El Financiero, the origin of its wealth. Balatazar Hinojosa Ochoa is also accused of coopting with DTOs of the Gulf Cartel while being mayor of Matamoros in 2006. In goes into the extent, in a recent book called "Tamaulipas; La casta de los narcogobernadores: un eastern mexicano" is accused of being present while former governor Tomas Yarrington, also accused of involvements with DTOs of the Gulf Cartel, received illicit money from the Gulf Cartel to finance its campaign for governor. Also according to Proceso, Baltazar Hinojosa is under investigation by the United States Department of Treasury for laundering money through the Panama Papers target, the law firm Mossack Fonseca. According to the media outlet, Baltazar Hinojosa brother in law, owns a shell company created by the law firm, where its board of directors' members is his wife and three daughters.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: On 25 March 2010, in the city of Matamoros, 40 inmates escaped from a federal prison. Authorities are still trying to understand how the prisoners escaped. The authorities mentioned that the incident is "under investigation," but did not give further information. In the border city of Reynosa, 85 inmates escaped from a prison on 10 September 2010. Reports first indicated that there were 71 fugitives, but the correct figures were later released. On 5 April 2010, in the same prison, a convoy of 10 trucks filled with gunmen broke into the cells and liberated 13 inmates, and the authorities later mentioned that 11 of them were "extremely dangerous." In Nuevo Laredo on 17 December 2010, about 141 inmates escaped from a federal prison. At first, estimates mentioned that 148 inmates had escaped, but later counts gave the exact figures. The federal government "strongly condemned" the prison breaks and said that the work by the state and municipal authorities of Tamaulipas "lack effective control measures" and urged them to strengthen their institutions. A confrontation inside a maximum security prison in Nuevo Laredo on 15 July 2011, left 7 inmates dead and 59 escaped. The 5 guards that were supposed to supervise have not been found, and the Federal government urged the state and municipal authorities to strengthen the security of their prisons. Consequently, the federal government did not hesitate to assign the Mexican Army and the Federal Police to vigilate the prisons until further notice; they were also left in charge of searching for the fugitives. "CNN" mentioned that the state government of Tamaulipas later recognized "their inability to work with the federal government." In a prison in the state of Zacatecas, on 16 May 2009, an armed commando liberated 53 Gulf Cartel members using 10 trucks and even a helicopter.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: According to "CNN", more than 400 prison inmates escaped from several prisons in Tamaulipas from January 2010 to March 2011 due to corruption.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: The "Excélsior" newspaper mentioned that the police forces in the state of Tamaulipas are the "worst paid in Mexico" despite being "one of the states hardest hit by violence." They also reported that in Aguascalientes, a state where violence levels are much lower, policemen are paid five times more than in Tamaulipas. In fact, they are paid around $3,618 pesos (about US$260) a month in all of Tamaulipas. As a result, most of the police forces in Tamaulipas are believed to be "corrupt" due to their low wages and the presence of organized crime, who can easily bribe them.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: On 9 May 2011, the Mexican government, along with Sedena, disarmed all police forces in the state of Tamaulipas, beginning with the cities of Matamoros and Reynosa. In June 2011, the state government of Tamaulipas requested the federal government to send in troops to combat the drug cartels in the area, to "consolidate actions on public safety" and "strengthen the capacity of their institutions." The Joint Operation Nuevo León-Tamaulipas issued in 2007, along with several other military-led operation by the federal government, have brought thousands of troops to restore order in Tamaulipas. "CNN" mentioned that the troops "replaced half of the policemen" in the state of Tamaulipas. On 7 November 2011, about 1,660 policemen were released from their duties because they had either failed their control tests or refused to take them.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: Although there have been efforts by the federal government to wipe out police corruption, Terra Networks published an article of a witness who said that the police forces in Matamoros work as "informants for the Gulf Cartel" and report on the activity of the Mexican military, and even "wave at [the cartel members]" when they see them in the streets. "El Universal" released an article which said that the National Public Security System (SNSP) has condemned the cops' salaries, and demanded the state and municipal authorities to create better paying programs for the policemen so they can have a "just wage" for themselves and their families. The federal government is also constructing three military bases in Tamaulipas: in Ciudad Mier, San Fernando and Ciudad Mante.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: In 2003, the arrest of several high-profile cartel leaders, including the heads of the Tijuana Cartel and Gulf Cartel, Benjamín Arellano Félix and Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, turned the war on drugs into a trilateral war. While in prison, Cárdenas and Arellano formed an alliance to defend themselves from the Sinaloa and Juarez Cartels, who had also allied with each other, and were planning to take over the smuggling routes and territories of the Gulf and Tijuana Cartel. After a dispute, however, Cárdenas ordered Arellano beaten, and the Gulf-Tijuana alliance ceased to exist at that point. It was reported that after the fallout, Cárdenas ordered Los Zetas to Baja California to wipe out the Tijuana Cartel.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: The Sinaloa-Juarez alliance ceased to exist as well due to an unpaid debt in 2007, and now the Sinaloa and Juarez Cartel are at war against each other. Since February 2010, the major cartels have aligned in two factions, one integrated by the Juárez Cartel, Tijuana Cartel, Los Zetas and the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel; the other faction integrated by the Gulf Cartel, Sinaloa Cartel, La Familia Cartel (now extinct) and the Knights Templar Cartel.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: The rupture from Los Zetas left Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sánchez and Antonio Cárdenas Guillén in full control of the Gulf Cartel. However, Ezekiel died in a shooting with the Mexican Marines in Matamoros, Tamaulipas in 2010, and Costilla Sanchez became the sole head of the cartel until his arrest in September 2012. Mario Cárdenas Guillén, brother of both Osiel and Antonio, became one of the top lieutenants in the organization after his release from prison in 2007. In addition, within the Gulf Cartel there is believed to be two groups—the Rojos and the Metros. The modus operandi ("mode of operation") of the Gulf Cartel changes whenever the United States attempts to strengthen their domestic policy in reinforcing the borders. When drug trafficking tightens, they usually invest in more sophisticated methods to smuggle drugs, recruit new members, corrupt more officials, seek new ways to remove obstacles that impede the immediate success of the organization, along with many others. Below is the basic structure of the cartel:


title: Gulf Cartel

text: It's worth noting that there are other operating groups within the drug cartels. For example, the drug producers and suppliers, although not considered in the basic structure, are critical operators of any drug cartel, along with the financers and money launderers. In addition, the arms suppliers operate in a completely different circle, and are technically not considered part of the cartel's logistics.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: In June 2019, Carlos Abraham Ríos Suárez, also known as El Oaxaco, was arrested. He served as head of cartel's operations in Oaxaca.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: Organized crime groups opt for protection racketeering in an effort to control markets and "maintaining internal order." It is generally seen as a way where criminals change the legal face of security and provide their own form of "insurance". This practice of extorting money from people is also seen in the human trafficking business in Mexico; the cartels threaten smugglers to pay a fee for using the corridors, and if they refuse to pay, drug traffickers respond in a deadly form. The Gulf Cartel operates in a similar way, and often extorts businesses for protection money in the areas where it operates, pledging to kill those who do not agree to pay the fee. In addition, the Mexican drug cartels also tax several Mexican businesses inside the United States and threaten them with property damage and murder if they do not comply.


title: Gulf Cartel

text: The Gulf Cartel, along with their rival group Los Zetas, have been the two drug cartels with the most kidnappings in all of Mexico, and "more than half of the country's kidnappings are attributed to them." And, there are several kidnapping rings of the Gulf Cartel throughout several parts of Tamaulipas. The Mexican military mentioned that in the states of Tamaulipas and Nuevo Leon, where the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas fight for territory, abductions are carried out very commonly. An intelligence agency mentioned that the Gulf Cartel kidnaps for three reasons:


title: Gulf Cartel

text: In April 2011 in the border city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas, 68 kidnapped victims from different parts of Mexico and Central America were found in a safe house of the Gulf Cartel. Omar Ortiz, best known for his nickname "El Gato", was a former soccer star from C.F. Monterrey who was arrested in January 2012 for working in a kidnapping ring within the Gulf Cartel. The Mexican Lucha libre wrestler Lázaro Gurrola, known as the "Estrella Dorada" (Golden Star), was also arrested for kidnapping people for the Gulf Cartel.