Alleged cartel members set up roadblocks in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, on Monday after federal forces arrested a high-level criminal target in the northern border city.

Security Minister Omar García Harfuch confirmed Thursday afternoon that Axel Alfredo Cárdenas Rodríguez, son of a Gulf Cartel leader known as “El Contador” (The Accountant), had been detained earlier in the day. El Contador is José Alfredo Cárdenas Martínez, nephew of Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, a former Gulf Cartel leader and founder of Los Zetas criminal organization.

Como resultado de trabajos de inteligencia militar de @Defensamx, Fuerzas Especiales del Ejército Mexicano y de la @GN_MEXICO_ detuvieron en Matamoros, Tamaulipas, a dos personas, entre ellas Axel Alfredo “N”, alias “Axel”, identificado como segundo al mando de la célula delictiva “Ciclones”.

Axel Alfredo “N” está relacionado con homicidios, secuestro, extorsión y tráfico de drogas, armas y personas hacia Estados Unidos. También es señalado como responsable de la agresión contra integrantes de @SSPCMexico, ocurrida el pasado 17 de mayo, en la que lamentablemente perdió la vida un compañero y varios más resultaron heridos. Su memoria y el compromiso de quienes arriesgan la vida para proteger a la ciudadanía nos obligan a continuar las investigaciones hasta detener a todos los responsables. No permitiremos que esta agresión quede impune.

Durante la acción se aseguraron armas, cargadores, cartuchos, droga y un vehículo. Ambos detenidos fueron trasladados por la @FuerzaAereaMx a la Ciudad de México.

— Omar H Garcia Harfuch (@OHarfuch) October 29, 2026

On Thursday afternoon, the Tamaulipas government’s security spokesperson’s office announced the arrest of a “priority target” on social media, but didn’t identify the suspect.

“In Matamoros, federal forces detained a priority target linked to an organized crime group,” the office said, adding that the suspect “was extracted from the area” prior to being turned over to “the relevant authorities.”

“As a result of these events, blockades have occurred at various points in Matamoros and Río Bravo,” the office said, referring in the latter case to a border municipality and city west of Matamoros.

“The public is advised to exercise caution, avoid the affected areas, use alternate routes, stay informed through official channels and follow the instructions of security authorities.”

🚨 La ciudad fronteriza de #Matamoros, Tamaulipas, registra bloqueos y quema de vehículos tras la detención de un integrante del Cártel del Golfo.

La policía de Brownsville, Texas, informó que los puentes internacionales están cerrados por un “incidente de seguridad.

📹 Especial

— La Silla Rota (@lasillarota) October 29, 2026

Blockades were also reported on the highway between Matamoros and Reynosa and the highway between Matamoros and Ciudad Victoria. The newspaper Reforma reported that main roads in Matamoros — located opposite Brownsville, Texas — were blocked.

“To block traffic, the criminals used public transport and cargo vehicles, as well as vehicles from which they had forced the drivers out,” Reforma reported.

In addition, “alleged organized crime accomplices … threw tire spikes on avenues in Reynosa and in the area around the [city’s] airport,” the newspaper wrote.

In addition to roadblocks, gunfire was reported in Matamoros and other parts of Tamaulipas, where criminals reportedly clashed with security forces.

Early Thursday afternoon, the Brownsville Police Department announced on social media that all international bridges between Brownsville and Matamoros were “closed due to an active security incident in Matamoros.”

However, later in the afternoon, it said that all bridges had “resumed normal operations.”

The Tamaulipas Ministry of Education canceled classes in Matamoros for students who start school in the afternoon (turno vespertino) in order to “protect the physical safety of school communities.”

The Gulf Cartel, one of eight Mexican criminal groups that the U.S. government has designated as foreign terrorist organizations, is one of the two main criminal groups that operate in Tamaulipas, the other being the Northeast Cartel.

According to the think tank and media organization Insight Crime, the Gulf Cartel is “one of Mexico’s oldest criminal groups, but it no longer operates as a unified organization.”

“… The Scorpions and the Cyclones are the most powerful factions. From the border, these groups smuggle migrants and drugs into the United States, move weapons and cash into Mexico, and operate complex extortion schemes,” Insight Crime says.

According to a report by the El Economista newspaper, Cárdenas Martínez is the leader of the Cyclones, while his son — who was detained today — is second-in-command.

With reports from Reforma and Aristegui Noticias