A weekend massacre that left 18 dead was a cowardly attack on innocent civilians, said Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. The politician did not address claims from nearby residents who say military and National Guard forces only worked to secure scene perimeters while state police actually clashed with the gunmen.
On Saturday shortly after noon, gunmen from the Gulf Cartel rolled into Reynosa from nearby Rio Bravo and killed 14 civilians. Tamaulipas state authorities managed to kill four cartel gunmen in response.
During a news conference on Monday, Lopez Obrador condemned the attack and said federal investigators would be looking into the matter. Lopez Obrador did not address the lacking responses of federal forces who sat on the perimeter.
The lack of action follows a pattern which causes tension between Tamaulipas state police and federal forces. In a prepared statement, Tamaulipas Governor Francisco Cabeza de Vaca took a jab at Lopez Obrador’s approach of not confronting criminal organizations.
“I call on the federal government so that each branch of the government assumes their responsibility in fighting those who threaten the security, health and stability of all communities,” the statement revealed. “The criminal organizations must receive from the federal government a clear signal, explicit and overwhelming, that there won’t be space for impunity or tolerance for their criminal conduct.”
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.
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