A squad of gunmen believed to be with the Gulf Cartel shot and killed a top Mexican federal prosecutor during a brazen attack in the border city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas. The attackers used grenades and automatic weapons. The gunmen managed to escape with complete impunity as Mexican government officials try to claim the region is safe and work to contain the public opinion fallout.
The attack took place on Monday afternoon along Boulevard Hidalgo, one of the busiest avenues in the city of Reynosa. A group of gunmen in a white SUV blocked off a vehicle driven by Ernesto Cuitláhuac Vásquez Reyna, threw a grenade at him, and began firing. After multiple bursts of automatic gunfire, the gunmen sped off. At the same time, other Gulf Cartel members began carrying out blockades and throwing road spikes along some of the main avenues in the city in an attempt to slow down authorities and allow the gunmen to escape.
Vazquez Reyna was the regional delegate for Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office (FGR). Hours after the attack, the Tamaulipas government issued a prepared statement worded in such a way that officials tried to minimize the incident, claiming that a government official had died along a city street and noting that witnesses had heard gunfire. As usual, Tamaulipas government officials made no mention of the automatic weapons or grenades used in the attack by the Gulf Cartel.
The targeted killing comes soon after Mexican federal authorities, under pressure from the U.S. government, had been forced to crack down on the Gulf Cartel’s fuel theft and fuel smuggling operations based in Reynosa.
According to Mexican law enforcement sources consulted by Breitbart Texas, these raids upset the current leadership of the Metros faction. The cartel operators then lashed out in retaliation against Mexican authorities for the federal government not keeping their side of an accord of sorts where the criminal organization’s businesses were to be protected.
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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