BLOOD'S THICKER THAN MUD: THE LATEST WRINKLE IN COUNTY POLIITICS

Special to El Rrun-Rrun

Even since former St. Joseph grads with family and commercial ties to Matamoros and northern Tamaulipas decided to enter Brownsville and Cameron County politics, they have been regarded with distrust by local pundits and residents who fear that the type of political governance in cartel-controlled  northern Tamaulipas will be brought to local entities.

Derisively referring to them as "Los Juniors," locals have watched wearily as some of the members of the group have been elected to public office in the city, the school district, the Port of Brownsville, and other local political entities.

A local blogger, as far back as a 2019, identified some of the principals as Arturo Trevino, Steve Guerra and Carlos Elizondo. Elizondo is a former city fire department chief who is now a trustee with the Brownsville Independent School District. "Turi" Treviño has served on the board of the Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation and other downtown promoting entities. Guerra is now one of three candidates in the Democratic Party March primary for Cameron County Judge.

The blogger, Jerry McHale, openly critical of the "juniors" and " fresas" said then that with their roots in Matamoros, they bring an entitled attitude to Brownsville's politics.

He wrote in January 2019 that "Los Juniors" are crossing from Matamoros to take over Brownsville. They are inspired by their leader, Generalissimo Carlos Marin. Just like they treat their poor brothers and sisters in Mexico with disdain, they exhibit the same arrogance towards Brownsville's masses. Money is their god and they want the power in order to rule the universe that is Brownsville. 

"As privileged Mexicans, they have been raised with the attitude that the rich stay rich and the poor remain poor. And the rich become even richer by exploiting the poor. We know that Matamoros, Tamaulipas and Mexico are a mess. Rampant violence and blood running in the streets are shared by the city, state and nation. 

"These rich Mexicans don't understand that there is an egalitarian mentality that reigns in the United States although Brownsville is as corrupt, impoverished and ignorant as any Mexican community. Perhaps that is the reason 'Los Juniors' see Brownsville as the perfect opportunity to expand Mexico's boundaries to just south of Los Fresnos."

Brownsville Navigation District Chairman Steve Guerra, who has also served on the board of the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation, has long denied that the new generation of cross-border elites have any links to the violent cartels across the border. Guerra is now a candidate on the Democratic Party nomination for county judge against incumbent Cameron County Eddie Treviño. 

Former Cameron County Sheriff Eric Garza – a Guerra ally – is currently seen as a stalking horse candidate in the race to try to draw votes away from Treviño and force a runoff with Guerra.

Privately, and publicly, Guerra has denied any involvement with the crime cartels, but critics often point to his blood lines – a grandson of Juan N. Guerra – the godfather of Juan Garcia Abrego's Gulf Cartel, as an indication of where his familial loyalties lie. The old saying that you can't chose your in-laws seems to apply in spades.

Likewise, the surname Cardenas is long associated with both political and commercial influence in Matamoros and Tamaulipas, including a state governor and mayor of Matamoros. One of their kin, Pedro Cardenas, is now a city commissioner and local businessman with extensive ties in Brownsville's sister city. 

Unfortunately, the name Cardenas has also gained notoriety when Osiel Cardenas, a former Mexican drug lord and the former top leader of the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas in Matamoros, was sentenced to a  25-year sentence for drug offenses, money laundering and threatening to assault and murder a federal agent.

He served for some time in the federal corrections system and in December 2024 was transferred back to Mexico after serving time in the U.S., and is now held in Mexico's Altiplano maximum-security prison.

It doesn't help their image when some of the 12 recently arrested defendants who were implicated in the control of commerce through extortion at Los Indios Bridge of transmigrantes bear their name.

Among the 12 defendants charged with extortion and money laundering is a woman named Guerra, a cousin of port commissioner Guerra. As we said earlier, you can't pick your in-laws.

Locals' fears that the cartels have infiltrated South Texas grow as disclosures in the media detail the massive theft of stolen Mexican oil that is then "laundered" and sold as petroleum byproducts and sold on either side of the border. “Fuel theft, colloquially referred to in Mexico as huachicol, is the most significant non-drug revenue source for Mexican cartels and other illicit actors,” according to information published by the U.S. Treasury Department.

That leads local residents to ask: Has the cartels found a home on the U.S. side, including, the city, school district, the Port of Brownsville, and now, perhaps, Cameron County? 

To quote McHale, "As 'Los Juniors' fatten their bank accounts in Brownsville...they are presently seeking control of the different political entities from whose spigots flow millions. And from their Mexican roots they recognize that Brownsville politicians, public servants and community leaders can be bought for a pittance."