15 Killed in Mexican Border State Cartel Clash

At least 15 gunmen were killed during a fierce clash between the Sinaloa cartel and their rivals, La Linea, in the southern part of Chihuahua.

The fighting took place in the rural community of Madera in the southern part of the state where a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, called Tigers or Tigre, clashed with the La Linea faction of the Jaurez Cartel.

According to official information provided to Breitbart Texas by the Chihuahua government, at least 15 gunmen died during the fighting. Authorities were able to arrest five other gunmen and seized 13 vehicles containing five machine guns and one handgun.

In response to the fighting, the Chihuahua Governor Javier Corral called federal authorities to coordinate a response with Mexican Marines, Army, Federal Police, and Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office.

Mexican federal law enforcement sources revealed that Chihuahua has become a hot spot for cartel violence as rival criminal organizations are fighting for control of drug trafficking routes and drug production territories.

During a two week period, Chihuahua saw approximately 64 murders directly tied to the raging cartel violence.

The fighting for control of the state is being carried out by the Sinaloa Cartel factions known as Tigres, Cabrera, Artistas Asesinos, and Mexicles. Those factions are clashing with the Juarez Cartel factions of La Linea and Los Aztecas, or Barrio Azteca.

In March, Breitbart Texas reported on a series of gun battles within the Juarez cartel that killed eight gunmen and injured four cops. A video taken by citizen journalists revealed the terror that citizens felt as the gunfire went on for hours.

One of the main areas in dispute is the border city of Ciudad Juarez, a lucrative drug smuggling corridor where thousands of illegal immigrants and tons of drugs are moved, sitting directly across the border from El Paso, Texas.   

As Breitbart Texas reported, Ciudad Juarez was known at one time as the murder capital of the world. That name came at a time when the Sinaloa Cartel under the leadership of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera made a power grab for the city. Once the Sinaloa Cartel became the dominant criminal organization, Ciudad Juarez saw a brief period of peace as murders decreased. That came to an end soon after Guzman was arrested in Mexico for the third time and then extradited to the U.S. where he is facing multiple drug conspiracy charges. Guzman’s absence led to infighting of sorts within his criminal organization and has led to the kidnapping of two of his sons.

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 Tony Aranda from Monterrey, Nuevo Leon and “M.A. Navarro” from Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas.