NUEVO LAREDO, Tamaulipas — Mayor Enrique Rivas was forced to dive for cover after cartel gunmen opened automatic fire in a clash yards away from a public event. While the mayor was not a target, military forces moved him as a security precaution.
A video of the event revealed the moment when Rivas was in Silao Park on the western side of this city when gunfire rang out. The mayor can be seen reacting in surprise as local journalists are told to dive for cover.
For several moments, people can be heard shouting and crying while Mexican soldiers and security personnel keep yell for people to stay down as they comb the area to ensure no one was shot and that no threats are in the area. Security personnel rushed Rivas out of the event.
The Tamaulipas government issued a short statement claiming that the shooting took place in an area near the public event but that it was not a directed attack on the attendees.
Shortly after, Rivas took to Facebook where he posted a video talking about the experience.
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” and “A.C. Del Angel” from Tamaulipas.