The Gulf Cartel continues to terrorize the Mexican border state of Tamaulipas despite the government’s claims of cracking down on drug cartels. The Gulf Cartel is labelled as a terrorist organization by the U.S. government.
Violence escalated in recent days as gunmen from the Gulf Cartel continue to carry out multiple attacks on law enforcement and, in one case, against an innocent family. The criminal organization has been escalating its level of violence in recent months by targeting average citizens in random kidnappings and armed robberies.
The heightened violence comes as the Gulf Cartel has been hit by the increase in border enforcement under the Trump administration, which has severely decreased the smuggling of migrants — one of the cartel’s leading money makers.
The most recent spike of violence took place on Friday afternoon, when gunmen tried to kidnap two factory workers in the southwest part of the city.
The kidnapping took place along the Reynosa -San Fernando highway when the two factory workers were moving in a company truck. A group of gunmen blocked them off, took the vehicle, and kidnapped them.
Tamaulipas state authorities responded to the scene and spotted a Chevrolet Dart that the gunmen were using. Authorities tried to stop the vehicle, but the driver began firing, leading authorities into a short rolling shootout. Authorities were eventually able to block off the vehicle and arrest the driver, who sustained various injuries.
Inside the vehicle, authorities found one of the kidnapping victims. State investigators are working to find the second victim and the stolen company truck.
Just one day before, on Thursday, a group of Gulf Cartel gunmen in multiple vehicles tried to ambush a group of detectives with the Tamaulipas State Attorney General’s Office, setting off an intense shootout. In that case, a family that was driving by was caught in the crossfire. A male child died from gunshot injuries while his father and mother sustained injuries and required medical care.
That case sparked much controversy since local news outlets claimed that state authorities were the ones who fired at the innocent family after confusing them for gunmen. However, the Tamaulipas AG’s office issued a statement claiming that, based on ballistics and other forensic evidence, they were able to determine that the shots that hit the family came from two vehicles that were being used by the gunmen and not from the ones used by authorities.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart News Foundation. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.
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