A cartel convoy of at least 10 trucks disrupted the early morning hours of the Mexican border city of Agua Prieta Monday morning with gunfire. The attack began at approximately 3:15am and resulted in two deaths with several vehicles torched.
The occupants of the caravan fired rounds in the air and exchanged gunfire with several individuals in other vehicles. According to Breitbart Texas law enforcement sources, the violence began when the convoy pursued a vehicle, firing multiple rounds. The targeted driver eventually crashed into a wall. The driver presumably fled on foot as the convoy continued to patrol the city, firing at specific targets.
The convoy reportedly patrolled the city for at least one hour, torching several vehicles and leaving at least two dead. A cell phone video released on social media captured the sounds of the early morning incident.
Other cell phone videos released on Facebook captured the convoy patrolling the city.
The early morning attack led the Douglas, Arizona, police department to issue a travel warning:
This morning the Douglas Police Department received reports of sustained automatic gunfire in Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico. There is no spillover or threats to Douglas or Cochise County at this time. Local, state, and federal agencies are actively monitoring the situation. Residents are cautioned to avoid unnecessary travel into Mexico at this time.
Douglas sits directly across the border from Agua Prieta. In June, cartel violence erupted there and in nearby Naco, Sonora, leaving nine dead after rival cartel operatives opened fire on each other in broad daylight.
Investigators are currently looking at the possibility if the Agua Prieta violence is related to a deadly ambush that occurred several hours later on Monday near a rural Mormon community 90 miles south in Bavispe, Sonora. Cartel gunmen ambushed and murdered three women and six children. Six more children were wounded. All victims are dual U.S. and Mexican citizens.
Robert Arce is a retired Phoenix Police detective with extensive experience working Mexican organized crime and street gangs. Arce completed work assignments in the Balkans, Iraq, Haiti, and recently completed a three-year tour in Monterrey, Mexico, for the U.S. Department of State, International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Program.
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