TAMPICO, Tamaulipas — Five members of a private security company that trains Mexican federal law enforcement agencies in shooting and tactics were kidnapped by suspected cartel gunmen in this city.
The kidnapping took place earlier this month in the Unidad del Valle neighborhood, law enforcement sources revealed to Breitbart Texas. Various agencies continue their investigation and search for victims. To date, no answers have been given.
Breitbart Texas was able to obtain exclusively a law enforcement report that identifies the kidnapping victims as 39-year-old Franco Escopa; 39-year-old Guillermo Gaza; 33-year-old Eduardo Viveros; 30-year-old Eline Liaz; and another unidentified woman. All of the victims worked for a security company called SECOP, which provided training to Mexico’s Federal Police.
The group was last seen gathered outside of a convenience store. The victims arrived in three late model vehicles. According to the report, the instructors traveled from the state of Puebla to secure new contracts for their services.
One of the victims was able to make a phone call to a colleague. In the call, they said that gunmen riding in a black Chevrolet Optra were kidnapping them. The colleague was able to alert law enforcement and used a GPS device to track their location to the Enrique Cardenas neighborhood.
Federal and state cops rushed to the area and tried to locate the victims, but were not successful. Authorities have not been able to locate either party. No ransom demands have been made.
Tampico and the nearby suburbs are currently controlled by the Gulf Cartel. Through the use of force, the criminal organization has been able to direct the region’s kidnappings, extortion, fuel theft, and drug trafficking.
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 “Francisco Morales” from Tamaulipas.