Cartel Figure Arrested as Tigers, Drugs Seized
Mexican authorities arrest alleged cartel figure after seizing drugs, guns, exotic animals, and seven tigers in major raid.
Mexican authorities have arrested an alleged cartel figure following a raid that uncovered drugs, firearms, luxury assets, and seven live tigers believed to have been kept at a cartel-linked property.
José Antonio Cortes Huerta, 39, was detained in Nuevo León following an investigation connected to the earlier seizure of a boat in Tamaulipas, according to Mexican Security Minister Omar García Harfuch. Authorities identified Cortes Huerta as the leader of a criminal cell affiliated with the Northeast Cartel.
A second suspect, Rosario Flores Alemán, 41, was also arrested during the operation.
Investigators recovered suspected narcotics, firearms, ammunition, and luxury assets during the raid, alongside seven tigers believed to have been kept at the property. Authorities are now examining whether the location functioned as both a safehouse and operational base for cartel-linked trafficking activity.
The discovery of exotic animals has renewed attention on the use of private wildlife collections by cartel figures, who often use dangerous animals as displays of power, intimidation, and wealth. Security analysts say such properties frequently double as fortified compounds used to host meetings, store weapons, and coordinate trafficking logistics.
Officials are continuing to analyse seized communications, financial records, and weapons recovered from the scene as part of a broader investigation into the cartel cell’s operations and regional trafficking routes.
The arrests form part of Mexico’s wider crackdown on organised crime groups involved in drug trafficking, armed enforcement activity, and cross-border smuggling networks.
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