Héctor David Delgado Santiago (23 December 1975 – 15 January 2013), commonly referred to by his alias El Metro 4, was a suspected Mexican

drug lord A drug lord, drug baron, kingpin, or lord of drugs is a type of crime boss in charge of a drug trafficking network, organization, or enterprise. Crime barons may be difficult to bring to justice: usually, they do not possess illegal goods. Ra ...

and high-ranking leader of the

Gulf Cartel The Gulf Cartel ( , or ''Golfos'') is a criminal syndicate, Drug cartel, drug trafficking organization, and U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, which is perhaps one of the oldest organized crime groups in Mexico. It is currently bas ...

, a criminal group based in

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas, is a state in Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 43 municipalities. It is located in nor ...

. Born and raised in

Matamoros, Tamaulipas Matamoros, officially known as Heroica Matamoros, is a city in the northeastern Mexican state of Tamaulipas, and the municipal seat of the homonymous municipality. It is on the southern bank of the Rio Grande, directly across the border from Bro ...

, El Metro 4 initiated his criminal career by working with Los Metros, an enforcer gang of the Gulf Cartel. After several years, his position in the cartel grew, and he later became the regional leader in

Reynosa, Tamaulipas Reynosa () is a border city in the northern part of the state of Tamaulipas, in Mexico which also holds the municipal seat of Reynosa Municipality. The city is located on the southern bank of the Rio Grande in the international Reynosa–McAlle ...

and the right-hand man of the drug lord

Mario Ramírez Treviño Mario Armando Ramírez Treviño (5 March 1962 – 13 March 2025), commonly referred to by his aliases El Pelón and/or X-20, was a Mexican suspected drug lord and leader of the Gulf Cartel, a drug trafficking organization. In the early 2000s ...

. Although no official reports have been released, several media outlets alleged that El Metro 4 was found dead in Reynosa on 15 January 2013. The motives behind his murder are still unknown, but the two prevailing theories suggest that he was killed by the rival gang

Los Zetas Los Zetas (, Spanish for "The Zs") is a Mexican criminal syndicate and designated terrorist organization, known as one of the most dangerous of Mexico's drug cartels. They are known for engaging in brutally violent " shock and awe" tactics suc ...

or betrayed by members of his own cartel.

Criminal career

Héctor David Delgado Santiago was born and raised in the Mexican border city of

on 23 December 1975. His father was a former

customs broker Custom brokers or Customs House Brokerages are working positions that may be employed by or affiliated with freight forwarders, independent businesses, or shipping lines, importers, exporters, trade authorities, and customs brokerage firms. Nort ...

in the area. He started his criminal career as a gang member for Los Metros, a muscle group of the drug trafficking organization known as the

. As time passed, ''El Metro 4'' became acquainted with some corrupt Mexican law enforcement officials, and his rank in the Gulf Cartel grew. Delgado Santiago, unlike other drug traffickers of his time like

Gregorio Sauceda-Gamboa Gregorio Sauceda Gamboa is a Mexican illegal drug trafficker of the Gulf Cartel. Sauceda was a former investigative police officer, who helped smuggle an average of 10 tons of cocaine and 30 tons of marijuana across the border each month. Arr ...

(''Metro 2'') and Samuel Flores Borrego (''Metro 3''), managed to keep a low-profile by working alongside corrupt law enforcement and staying out of the Mexican and U.S. authorities' radar. At some point in his career, ''El Metro 4'' worked as the regional boss of the Gulf Cartel in

and as the right-hand man of the current leader

. Between September and October 2012, ''El Metro 4'' was riding a battered old car (to avoid detection by the military) while heading to

Río Bravo, Tamaulipas Río Bravo, formally Ciudad Río Bravo, is a city on the northern border of the state of Tamaulipas in northeastern Mexico. It is the municipal seat of Río Bravo Municipality. Geography The city lies in the Rio Grande Valley on the south of t ...

when he was pulled over by the transit police. The police tried to extort him, and did not believe he was a Gulf Cartel leader. "Feeling offended, he punished them all..." and forced all of the transit police in the area to do patrolling on foot for approximately six weeks for pulling him over. ''El Metro 4'' was known by authorities on both sides of the border as a coldblooded and ruthless assassin. In 2011, the

Texas Department of Public Safety Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous state in the South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the west, and has an international border wi ...

indicated that he had given orders to his henchmen to fire at U.S. agents if they interfered with drug shipments of the cartel. There were also several attacks carried out in the United States that were attributed to ''El Metro 4'', who had a reputation of disregarding "borders when scores needed to be settled."

Cartel infighting

On 2 September 2011, the bullet-ridden body of Samuel Flores Borrego was found in the outskirts of Reynosa. Preliminary reports suggested, however, that he was abducted, tortured, and executed by members of his own cartel. With his death, the Gulf Cartel separated into two factions: one faction was known as Los Rojos, which was originally composed by members loyal to the family of the imprisoned leader

Osiel Cárdenas Guillén Osiel Cárdenas Guillén (born 18 May 1967) is a former Mexican drug lord and the former top leader of the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas. Originally a mechanic in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, he entered the cartel by killing Juan García Abrego's fri ...

; the second faction was called Los Metros, and was headed by the former leader

Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sánchez Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sánchez (born 1 August 1971) is a former Mexican drug lord and top leader of the criminal drug trafficking organization known as the Gulf Cartel. He was among Mexico's most-wanted drug lords, until his arrest in 2012. H ...

. In an effort to find those responsible, ''El Metro 4'' worked with Osiel's nephew

Rafael Cárdenas Vela Rafael Cárdenas Vela (a.k.a. ''El Junior'') is a former Mexican drug lord and high-ranking lieutenant of the Gulf Cartel. He is the nephew of Antonio and Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, two men who at one time led the criminal organization. Born and ...

(''El Junior'') and decided that they were going to lead an investigation inside the Gulf Cartel.

Disappearance and death

Although there is not an official statement from the U.S. and Mexican authorities, several media outlets that cited "extra-official sources" alleged that ''El Metro 4'' was killed in Reynosa, Tamaulipas on early hours of the morning on 15 January 2013. Initial reports indicated that he was wounded in a shootout and was taken to a local hospital, where he later died of complications from the gunshot wounds he received. It was later indicated, however, that the man who died in the hospital was another top criminal in the Gulf Cartel, and that ''El Metro 4'' had actually disappeared a few days before and that his body was found dead by the Mexican authorities in Reynosa. There are two different versions surrounding the motives behind ''El Metro 4's'' death: (1) one of them is that he was killed by rival gang members of

, who managed to make an incursion in Reynosa; (2) the other version is that he was betrayed and killed by members of his own cartel.

InSight Crime InSight Crime is a non-profit think tank and media organization specializing in organized crime in Latin America and the Caribbean. The organization has offices in Washington, D.C., and Medellín, Colombia. InSight Crime receives funding from the ...

believes that if Los Zetas were responsible for his death, the attack was probably a direct response to the Gulf Cartel incursions in

Monterrey Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

in 2012. In addition, Reynosa is typically regarded as a stronghold of the Gulf Cartel, but it has not been immune to incursions by Los Zetas. If ''El Metro 4'' was betrayed, it remains unclear for whom the assassins were working, whether or not some Gulf Cartel members shifted to Los Zetas, or if it was an internal strife. ;Aftermath On the night of 10 March 2013, a three-hour gun battle broke out between alleged rival factions of the Gulf Cartel in the streets of Reynosa, Tamaulipas. Government reports suggest that two innocent civilians were killed in the crossfire, but a law enforcement official with direct knowledge of the incident indicated that at least 36 people were killed; the number may even be higher, considering that Gulf Cartel gunmen managed to pick up the bodies of their fallen soldiers. Large armed convoys of over a dozen vehicles with the signs "M4" were seen throughout the city. According to

Valor por Tamaulipas Valor por Tamaulipas ("Courage for Tamaulipas") is a Facebook page that covers security updates in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. It was founded by an anonymous user on 1 January 2012, and its goal is to share information with other social media ...

, the shootout was caused by a power struggle within the Gulf Cartel, which skyrocketed with the death of ''El Metro 4''.

Borderland Beat Borderland Beat is an English language news blog that reports on the Mexican drug war. The blog was started in 2009 by an anonymous individual using the pseudonym Buggs. Borderland Beat's reporters are mostly based in the U.S. and Mexico. Their m ...

indicated that Los Metros gang of the Gulf Cartel experienced several disputes with Miguel ''El Gringo'' Villarreal and ''El Commandante Puma'', leaders of another group within the cartel. Although no official reports exists, there are rumors that ''El Commandante Puma'' were killed in the gunfight.

Sources

Footnotes

References