Among the recently captured Los Zetas, Li spent more than a year in southern Texas, hiding from his rival before returning to Mexico to unleash extreme regional violence. The cartel figure is believed to have masterminded a massive attack that killed two Mexican soldiers and one police officer, while injuring eight other people in response to his recent arrest of his wife.
This week, Mexican authorities announced the arrest of Jorheil “El Fraco or Gonzo” Chavez Hernandez, the local leader of the Old School Zetas (Zetavieja Escaela) in San Fernando, Tamaulipas. The arrest came as part of a midnight attack, and authorities caught El Fraco in surprise. He couldn’t fight back or try to escape. After his capture, authorities transferred him to Reinosa for further court hearings.
Tamaulipas authorities wanted El Fraco for his alleged role as the leading instigator of violence. They listed him as one of the most wanted criminals and offered him $50,000 for his capture. However, the incident is expected to become the federal government in a few days.
Run to Texas
Chavez Hernandez was a longtime member of the Escorpion faction of the Gulf Cartel, and managed certain municipalities in the central part of the state. Sometime in 2017, he fell with leadership and was forced to flee. Mexican law enforcement has revealed that El Fraco has spent more than a year moving to southern Texas to avoid being killed by Breitbart, Texas, to keep him inconspicuous. At the same time, he worked to establish new alliances to regain his position.
Jorge Luis’ “Elflaco” by Chavez Hernandez. (Credit Breitbart News Foundation / Carte; Chronicles)
Between 2018 and 2019, El Fraco returned to Tamaulipas and joined the group Pantera under Pablo Misael “Pantera 24” Lal.
A file that identifies Jorge Luis “El Fraco” Chavez Hernandez. (Credit: Breitbart News Foundation / Cartel Chronicles).
While working with Pantera 24, Chavez Hernandez established an alliance with San Fernando’s Zetas Vieja Escuela group. Shortly afterwards, Metros and ZVE joined forces with the Cartel Jalisco New Generation. This is the alliance that sparked a long-standing war with Escorpion that continues to this day.
Ambush attack
In April 2023, Escorpion had a great push to regain the heart of Tamaulipas, but they met with fierce resistance as the El Fraco men received extensive support from ZVE, Metro and CJNG. The battle quickly spread across different parts of Tamaulipas and continues to this day at unprecedented levels of intensity. With the extensive use of armored vehicles, both sides have relied on the use of explosives and landmines, using drones to drop explosives on their rivals.
El Fraco’s ferociousness created a local headline when setting up a complicated ambush on Tamaulipas’ Aba Solo in August 2024, where he killed two soldiers and one state police officer in an attack that injured eight other soldiers. The attack came shortly after authorities arrested his wife, Diana Laura Orozco, on a weapons charge.
Diana Laura Giasso Orozco, wife of Cartel Commander El Fraco. (Credit Breitbart News Foundation/Cartel Chronicles).
Elflaco reduced electricity to the city due to its ambush and used several armored vehicles. As reported by Breitbart Texas at the time, Tamaulipas State Police were unable to obtain timely backups due to fuel shortages caused by government cuts.
Editor’s Note: The Breitbart News Foundation travels to Mexico City and the provinces of Tamaulipas, Coahuira and Nuevo Leon, recruiting citizen journalists to risk their lives and cartels silence the community. Writers will face certain deaths at the hands of various cartels that operate in areas such as the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas if pseudonyms are not used. Cartel Chronicles from Breitbart News Foundation It is published in both English and original Spanish. This article was written by Tamaulipas’s Francisco Morales, J.C. Sanchez and Jas Espinoza.
