Seven gunmen from the Cartel Del Noreste (CDN) faction of Los Zetas died after an intense shootout with state authorities in the border city of Nuevo Laredo. The gunmen all wore military-style clothing.
The shootout took place on Tuesday afternoon in Nuevo Laredo along the highway that leads to the city’s airport, Mexican law enforcement sources revealed to Breitbart Texas. The clash began when a squad of Tamaulipas State Police patrolling the area came across a blue Dodge pickup with gunmen from the CDN.
The gunmen began shooting. As the state police who fought off the attack, they killed seven. The intense clash lasted a short amount of time and did not begin to roll, as many shootouts do. Military and federal police did not take part and were missing from most of the recent clashes in Nuevo Laredo and other parts of the border state, a high-ranking Tamaulipas official revealed to Breitbart Texas.
Leaked crime scene photographs reveal the intensity of the shootout. One of the CDN members effectively suffered decapitation due to gunfire.
The shootout is the latest in a series between Tamaulipas authorities and CDN gunmen, essentially turning Nuevo Laredo into a war zone. The CDN operatives have access to grenade launchers, .50 caliber rifles, and armored SUVs with mounted machine guns and RPGs.
Using their superior firepower, CDN gunmen carried out a series of brazen attacks against Tamaulipas police officers, killing or injuring several in ambushes. The CDN chased Nuevo Leon state police and torched one of their vehicles after they dared to patrol cartel territory.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.
Tony Aranda from Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project contributed to this report.