<p>Tamaulipas, a northeastern Mexican state bordering Texas, has a messy history of bribing drug cartels in exchange for keeping police away and allowing traffickers to bring massive quantities of drugs into America. ;</p>
<p>Now, witnesses confirm that money is being used to finance political campaigns. These accusations come from a chain of court testimonies obtained from protected witnesses under the joint custody of Mexico&rsquo;s Attorney General&rsquo;s Office and the US Department of Justice (DOJ).</p>
<p>Files obtained by <em>Breitbart News</em> reveal &ldquo;a series of allegations that include famous politicians and businessmen in Tamaulipas as having taken part in or who witnessed bribes being paid or deals being made.&rdquo; ;These documents were filed by attorneys representing Tomas Jesus Yarrington Ruvalcaba &ndash; a former Tamaulipas governor who is wanted by the DOJ on drug conspiracy and money laundering charges. ;Eugenio Hernandez Flores, another former Tamaulipas governor, is also wanted by the US on money laundering charges. ;</p>
<p>The documents mention politician Baltazar Hinojosa Ochoa as having dealt directly with cartels. Hinojosa was a minor player at the time, but later went on to become the mayor of Matamoros. He is currently a gubernatorial candidate.</p>
<p>Another politician whose name appears in the documents is Rodolfo Torre Cantu, the brother of Tamaulipas&rsquo;s current governor who was killed by Los Zetas in 2010.</p>
<p>The &ldquo;protected witnesses&rdquo; were later revealed to be:</p>
<p>&bull; Antonio Pena Arguellas (code name &ldquo;Angeles&rdquo;), an informer for the DOJ</p>
<p>&bull; Ruben Ignacio Cavazos Salazar (code name &ldquo;Pedro&#8221;), former driver for policeman-turned-cartel-boss &ldquo;El Pollo&rdquo;</p>
<p>&bull; Cesar Eduardo Garcia AKA &ldquo;El Pollo&rdquo; (code name &ldquo;Oscar&rdquo;), a Tamaulipas police officer-turned-cartel-boss-turned-US-DEA-informant ;</p>
<p>&bull; Jose Salvador Puga Quintanilla (code name &ldquo;Pitufo&rdquo;), former Zeta who is no longer under PGR protection</p>
<p>Arguelles eventually confessed to being the &ldquo;middle-man&rdquo; between cartel members and the Tamaulipas government, dealing directly with the governor and cartel members in the early 2000&rsquo;s. He ;also admitted to collecting bulk cash payments from various cartel leaders, including the infamous &ldquo;El 40&rdquo; of Zeta, who were sending suitcases full of money to gubernatorial campaigns in exchange for the freedom to operate unmolested. ;</p>
<p>Despite overwhelming evidence against dozens of Tamaulipas politicians, the Mexican government has refused to act. It has also refrained from going after Hernandez and Yarrington, both of whom are considered (by the US) to be fugitives. ;In fact, Hernandez is often seen making public appearances in Tamaulipas as he campaigns for his &ldquo;amigo&rdquo; Baltazar Hinojosa. ;</p>
<p>While state and national governments turn a blind eye, Tamaulipas&rsquo;s capital city suffers in the grip of serious cartel violence as two rival factions of Los Zetas fight for control of Ciudad Victoria. For more than 7 months, beheadings and other acts of terror have average citizens afraid to leave their houses after dark. ;</p>
<p>The &#8220;Vieja Escuela Z&#8221; faction beheaded multiple &#8220;Cartel Del Noreste&#8221; (CDN) extortionists Monday night, leaving behind a narco message along with the heads. Just a few days earlier, cartel gunmen attacked a and murdered a young couple, dumping the bodies inside the car they had been driving. ;</p>
<p>The two factions are also fighting over the delivery of snacks to state prisons. Last weekend, CDN gunmen stole a delivery truck and set it on fire, sending a stark message to snack company ;<em>Sabritas</em> to stop deliveries. ;</p>
<p>Meanwhile, many kidnappings, shootings, and other acts of violence go unreported ;as journalists fear ;that exposing such stories would endanger their lives. ;</p>
<p>As you can see, this isn&rsquo;t just a Mexican problem. While our sister nation&#8217;s government refuses to act, drugs are pouring into the US by the ton &#8211; not to mention the incredible acts of violence that are taking place uncomfortably close the US border.</p>
<p>Maybe we do ;need to build a wall&#8230; ;</p>