SAN FERNANDO, Tamaulipas — Mexican authorities killed two cartel gunmen during a clash in this rural community near the Texas border. After the clash, authorities found two kidnapping victims inside the trunk of two vehicles.
The gun battle took place when a convoy of Tamaulipas police officers had been patrolling various dirt roads in this community. The police convoy spotted two small cars and a pickup truck with cartel gunmen who began to fire at police, information provided to Breitbart Texas by Tamaulipas authorities revealed.
During the gun battle, two cartel gunmen died while the rest were able to flee on the pickup. At the scene, authorities recovered the bodies of the two gunmen and while checking the two small cars found two kidnapping victims inside. One of the victims was already dead, while the second one was rushed to a local hospital where he died along the way.
The kidnapping victims were both bound, blindfolded and showed signs of torture. The man that was found dead in the trunk of the vehicle was identified as Francisco Javier Martinez de la Rosa. He appeared to have a gunshot wound to the head; however it remains unclear if he was executed by the cartel gunmen or if the gunshot wound was accidental during the gun battle.
The other kidnapping victim has been identified as Angel Abel Gomez, a local used car dealer. He was found in the trunk of a gray VW Jetta with gunshot injuries. he was rushed to a local hospital where he died along the way.
In recent days, San Fernando has seen a spike in kidnappings of cartel members and other local businessmen who may have ties to one of the various factions of the Los Zetas cartel who are fighting for control of this border region. As Breitbart Texas has reported in the past, various factions of the Los Zetas cartel have been fighting for control of the northern border.
Editor’s Note: Breitbart Texas traveled to the Mexican States of Tamaulipas, Coahuila and Nuevo León to recruit citizen journalists willing to risk their lives and expose the cartels silencing their communities. The writers would face certain death at the hands of the various cartels that operate in those areas including the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas if a pseudonym were not used. Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles are published in both English and in their original Spanish. This article was written by “J.A. Espinoza” from Matamoros, Tamaulipas and “A.C. Del Angel” from Reynosa, Tamaulipas.