Cartel figure detained as officials recover drugs, guns and 7 tigers

The leader of a group linked to a notorious cartel that operates near the U.S. border has been detained in Mexico, officials announced Monday. Authorities said they recovered weapons, drugs, cash and seven tigers during the arrest. José Antonio Cortes Huerta, 39, the leader of a cell affiliated with the Northeast Cartel, was arrested in Nuevo León, stemming from an investigation following the seizure of a boat in Tamaulipas, security minister Omar Garcia Harfuch said in a social media post . A woman, identified as 41-year-old Rosario Flores Alemán, was also detained. Authorities said they seized unidentified narcotics, cash, 10 guns, 11 vehicles, six motorcycles — and seven tigers. Some Mexican drug cartels are known to house exotic cats as symbols of power and, occasionally, to dispose of their enemies. According to a 2023 U.S. indictment , some victims of a Sinaloa cartel faction were "fed dead or alive to tigers." Authorities recovered weapons, drugs and seven tigers during the arrest. Mexico Security Minister Officials said the seized items are linked to Roberto Blanco Cantu who is known as "El Señor de los Buques" ("The Lord of the Ships"), a majority shareholder of the company Mefra Fletes. Cantu is accused of smuggling fuel and is affiliated with the Northeast Cartel. The Northeast Cartel (Cártel del Noreste) — a remnant of the infamous Zetas crime syndicate — was designated as a foreign terrorist group by the Trump administration in 2025. Last month, the U.S. …