Cartel’s Paramilitary Attack near Texas Border Meant to ‘Scare’ Civilians, Says Mexican Governor

In the aftermath of a weekend attack by a faction of Los Zetas that killed at least 23 individuals, the governor of Coahuila claimed that the attack was meant to “scare” his people.

On Saturday, a convoy of gunmen from the Cartel Del Noreste faction of Los Zetas used a series of dirt roads to move from the border city of Nuevo Laredo to the rural town of Villa Union, where they fired at the city hall, torched police vehicles and started a shootout that went on for hours that led to at least 17 dead gunmen, four dead police officers, two dead firefighters and several other shooting victims.

A series of videos posted to social media pages revealed the intensity of the shootouts between state police and cartel gunmen.

In the aftermath, Coahuila Governor Miguel Angel Riquelme revealed that authorities arrested two gunmen who said they chose the town because it was the first one in Coahuila that they could reach via dirt roads alone. The politician stated the gunmen numbered approximately 150 in at least 25 armored SUVs.

“The two detained claimed they were sent there to try and scare Coahuila, a town that is at the entrance of the dirt road,” Riquelme was quoted by the Coahuila newspaper Zocalo. “They wanted to go in, strike, and leave.”

This week, Riquelme walked back a series of statements where he had claimed the convoy crossed into Texas briefly as they made their way to Villa Union. Riquelme later since he meant the gunmen used dirt roads bordering Texas.

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.