A high-ranking cartel leader and his bodyguard were found tortured to death, just five weeks after he allegedly ordered massacre that saw 15 innocent people hunted down and killed in northeastern Mexico.
Edgar Valladares and security guard Juan Miguel Lizardi were discovered lying inside a pickup truck stationed on the side of a road in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, on Tuesday morning. The pair had been beaten before being shot.
Valladares, also known as 'El Maestrín,' was on the radar of local authorities after he instructed members of the Gulf Cartel's Escorpiones (Scorpions) criminal cell to launch the assault on the city of Reynosa, located across from McAllen, Texas.
Witnesses told authorities that a convoy gunmen sped through the Reynosa neighborhoods of Almaguer, Bienestar, Lampacitos, and Obrera randomly hunting down innocent bystanders.
A confrontation with the police left four gunmen dead. At least 13 cartel members have been arrested in connection to the massacre.
Edgar Valladares, leader of the Gulf Cartel's Escorpiones cell, was found dead alongside his bodyguard inside a pickup truck in Reynosa, Mexico, on Tuesday morning. Valladares reportedly instructed the gang to launch an assault in the Reynosa neighborhoods of Almaguer, Bienestar, Lampacitos, and Obrera that left 15 innocent bystanders dead
Authorities in Reynosa, Mexico, recovered the tortured body of Juan Miguel Lizardi (pictured) inside a vehicle on Tuesday. He allegedly worked as a security guard for Gulf Cartel leader Edgar Valladares, who was also found beaten and shot dead
Jonathan Balderas, who was wounded during the shootout and remains in police custody, confessed to investigators from his hospital bed that Valladares had ordered the Escorpiones gunmen to destabilize the Gulf Cartel's drug turf in Reynosa due to his cell's internal strife with a faction know as the Metros.
Valladares' assassination was reported a day after Gulf Cartel factions decided to call a truce.
Police in the state of Tamaulipas confirmed the professionally printed banners appeared in the border city of Reynosa and other cities Monday.
Photos of the banners
