Convoys of cartel gunmen in armored vehicles clash regularly in and around the border cities of Miguel Aleman and Camargo, immediately south of Starr County, Texas. The shootouts are spreading fear locally as rivals fight for a section of the border without any fencing.
For several weeks, the Cartel Del Noreste faction of Los Zetas has made a systemic push east into the area known as “La Riberena,” gaining more ground with each day. The organization spent months to wrest the territory from the Metros faction of the Gulf Cartel. Most of the fighting occurs around remote ranchlands away from the city, however, the bloodshed recently intensified as CDN launched almost daily incursions into populated areas.
La Riberena features approximately 46 miles of borderlands without any fencing and shallow sections of the Rio Grande. It is known as the “crown jewel” of the Gulf Cartel because of historically lacking of border security measures. The region is also seeing a dramatic spike in smuggling activity despite the pandemic.
The fighting for the Riberena continues to escalate as CDN gunmen deploy armored trucks outfitted with high powered weapons and explosives. Rival armored convoys are clashing deeper into populated areas, causing more innocent bystanders’ deaths or injuries.
Last month, cartel gunmen shot at a family driving home from visiting a dying relative at a hospital in Miguel Aleman. Two family members died while two more sustained serious injuries. The local mayor denounced the violence and asked President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to not forget about the people living in the crossfire.
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 and Tony Aranda from Nuevo Leon.
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