Illegal Fishing Operations by the Gulf Cartel: A Hidden Criminal Enterprise in U.S. Waters

Since 2007, U.S. border authorities have warned about drug trafficking operations by the Gulf Cartel in the water area connecting Texas and Tamaulipas. Now, after more than 17 years, the U.S. Department of the Treasury has revealed an illegal fishing network that profits this criminal organization.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) detailed these activities, which the Gulf Cartel coordinates from Playa Bagdad, also known as Playa Costa Azul in Matamoros.

The Gulf Cartel uses small boats to send fishermen into U.S. waters to catch red snapper and shark. Due to strict fishing regulations in the U.S., these species are more plentiful there. Cartel associates exploit this situation by crossing the border to catch large amounts of fish, according to the Treasury Department.

Caught fish are taken back to Playa Bagdad, which is just over 13 kilometers south of the Texas border. From there, the fish can either be sold in Mexican fish markets or fraudulently labeled for export to the U.S.

Authorities noted that the same boats are often used for smuggling drugs and people.

In its investigation, OFAC identified five key individuals in this criminal network:

1. Francisco Javier Sierra Angulo, alias ‘El Borrado’, leader of the Gulf Cartel in Matamoros.
2. Brothers Ismael Guerra Salinas (alias ‘Mayelo’) and Omar Guerra Salinas (alias ‘Samorano’), supervisors of drug and human trafficking from Playa Bagdad to the U.S.
3. Raúl Decuir García (alias ‘La Burra’) and Ildefonso Carrillo Sapien (alias ‘El Chivo’), who own camps that provide boats for fishermen to cross into the U.S. for the cartel’s benefit.

The Treasury Department stated that illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing poses severe threats to ocean health and contributes to global overfishing, impacting economies and ecosystems worldwide.

The boats used by the Gulf Cartel typically measure between six and nine meters long. Though cargo sizes aren’t specified, these illegal activities likely bring millions of dollars in profit annually to the cartel.

In 2016, Mexico exported 1,471 metric tons of red snapper, generating over nine million dollars in revenue from these sales.