REYNOSA, Tamaulipas — The raging war for control of multiple drug crossing areas in the northern part of this border state appears to have no end. Cartel gunmen are kidnapping rivals out of their homes to execute them; while in other cities, rural battles shut down highways.

For almost a week, this border city, western municipalities like Camargo and Miguel Aleman, as well as those on the eastern side such as Rio Bravo, were settings for fierce gun battles as two rival factions of the Gulf Cartel fight for control.

The Gulf Cartel factions have been at war since early May–leading to more than 180 murders, as Breitbart Texas has been reporting. In recent days, the violence escalated in an exponential fashion with daily gun battles and executions following an apparent push by one faction to capture rival leaders.

The kidnapped rivals are usually tortured and executed. As Breitbart Texas reported, the ongoing violence has led to the discovery of clandestine grave sites near the Texas border.

The violence also led to the recent practice of hanging of corpses from bridges.

The escalating conflict also touched young children as schools in Reynosa are now being forced to implement security measures as cartel gunmen spray gunfire outside. One of those cases took place in the Pedro J. Mendez neighborhood, where a cartel gun battle and chase forced a school to go into lockdown as students ducked for cover under their desks. As Breitbart Texas reported, shootouts near elementary schools have become yet another reality of the ongoing violence.

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 Tamaulipas.