Juan García Ábrego

Juan García Abrego United States intelligence reports state Guerra reared his nephew on car theft before passing down his criminal enterprise. García Abrego was involved in car theft activities since the 1970s along with his best friend Líctor Hazael Marroquín García. The exact date of succession is unknown; however, law enforcement officials recall an incident on January 27, 1987, when Tomás Morlet, former officer in an elite Mexican police force turned national trafficker, exchanged harsh words with García Abrego and was later found, shot twice in the back in the doorway of Guerra's Piedras Negras Restaurant. The renegotiating, however, brought a price: the cartel would have to guarantee any shipment from Colombia to its destination. This change forced García Abrego to begin stockpiling hundreds of tons of cocaine along Mexico's northern border in warehouses;

The cartel's United States distribution network relied heavily on regional managers. Operating from Houston, Texas, high-ranking regional lieutenant Hilario Gonzalez Balderas Sr. served as a primary U.S. distribution operator, managed cocaine logistics, and laundered proceeds for the organization until his federal conviction in 1992. He was prosecuted in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas for engaging in a Continuing Criminal Enterprise (CCE) and conspiracy to transport monetary instruments, which resulted in a mandatory federal life sentence without parole.

In addition to transporting cocaine for the Cali Cartel, it was believed the García Abrego cartel would also ship large quantities of cash to be laundered. The United States Department of Justice would confiscate over US$53 million between 1989 and 1993 that was being laundered through two corrupt American Express employees as proof of such large scale operations. In 1994, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) believed García Abrego was making as much as US$10 billion per year in profit.

García Abrego was also involved in providing protection to other cartels wishing to operate within corridors already claimed by his organization. In the mid-1980s, Carlos Reséndez set up a meeting between García Abrego and Gernando "El Aguacate" Martínez, regarding permission for Martínez to move cocaine through Matamoros. García Abrego permitted him to do so in exchange for US$200k per airplane flying through the region.

It was later revealed to García Abrego that Martínez began moving planes through the region without paying the fee. García Abrego reached out to an FBI agent, Claudio de la O., whom he was bribing, to have the men taken care of. Claudio de la O. alluded to having the men killed, however they were taken into custody.

Corruption in Mexico Juan García Abrego's web of corruption was believed to stretch to all aspects of the Ernesto Zedillo government. Upon García Abrego's arrest a book detailing the scale of bribery was located. From examining the contents it became known that the head of Federal Judicial Police (FJP) was receiving US$1 million, force operations chief was receiving US$500,000 and the federal police commander of the Gulf Cartels base of operations in Matamoros, was receiving US$100,000.

The book categorized the payments not so much as bribes but rather as what García Abrego considered a tax on business.

It also became known that, in addition to the INS bus scam, García Abrego 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.

García Abrego's arrest was even subject to allegations of corruption. It is believed the Mexican government knew all García Abrego'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, an FJP commander, is believed to have received a bulletproof Mercury Grand Marquis and US$500,000 from a rival cartel for enacting García Abrego's arrest.

Further theories allege that García Abrego was arrested to satisfy U.S. demands and meet certification, from the Department of Justice (DOJ), as a trade partner. García Abrego was apprehended on January 14, 1996, and Mexico received certification on March 1.

Enforcement It is believed that on May 16, 1984, García Abrego ordered a hit on rival trafficker Casimiro Espinosa. The murder attempt failed, leaving Casimiro injured. The following day gunmen shot their way into Raya Clinic, a private hospital, looking for Casimiro. In the ten-minute shootout that followed, 300 rounds were fired and multiple innocent people were killed, including a security guard, a husband and child, and a bedridden woman. Casimiro died the next day from injuries sustained in the shootout.

Prior to García Abrego's arrest he had been discussing terms in which he would surrender to authorities. Those terms included medical treatment for his jailed brother's diabetes, one last trip to Colombia before his surrender, conjugal visits from his mistress, to be jailed in Guadalajara with some of his lieutenants for his own protection, and to allow himself to be taken in by the police commander of his choice. Mexican government officials however denied the requests.

Following the arrest of García Abrego, Osiel Cárdenas Guillen took over the cartel. Cárdenas was known for founding the para-military group Los Zetas as enforcers for the Gulf Cartel. Cárdenas was captured by the Mexican Army after a battle on March 14, 2003, in Matamoros.

In February 2010, Los Zetas engaged in a violent turf war against its former employer/partner, the Gulf Cartel, in the border city of Reynosa.

Media portrayals In Narcos: Mexico, García Abrego is portrayed by Flavio Medina.