92 Killed in Cartel War near Texas Since May

REYNOSA, Tamaulipas — 92 individuals have been killed in less than two months in this border city as rival cartel factions continue to fight for control.

Since early May, two rival factions of the Gulf Cartel have fought for control of Reynosa and its surrounding areas. As Breitbart Texas reported, the rival factions are largely fighting over smuggling routes, street level distribution, money laundering businesses, and human smuggling.

In late April, Mexican authorities killed Gulf Cartel leader Juan Manuel “Toro” Loiza Salinas. In early May, two rival factions began to fight for control of the region. Initially, the clashes consisted of convoys roaming the streets searching for rivals–setting off large-scale gun battles.

Soon after, a second type of fighting took place as cartel forces began carrying out kidnappings and executions to weaken rivals. Executions continued into the weekend with Mexican authorities responding to various crime scenes where cartel members had either dumped previously kidnapped and murdered victims or carried out brazen executions.

To curb the violence, Mexican authorities dispatched soldiers, marines, federal cops and state police officers to patrol the city streets. While police forces have proven successful in fighting cartel gunmen, criminals continue to ambush authorities. The most recent clash took place on Sunday night in Reynosa between cartel forces and Mexican marines. Official information has not been made available, but preliminary reports indicate one marine died and another was injured.

The fighting has also led to several innocent victims being caught in the crossfire, leaving them injured or killed. Cartel gunmen have resorted to extortion and robberies against civilians to replenish their war chest. As reported by Breitbart Texas, Gulf Cartel operators shot and killed a young boy during a highway robbery.

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 “A.C. Del Angel” from Reynosa, Tamaulipas.