Mexican authorities are investigating the transit police departments of two border state cities over allegations of cartel connections.
The investigation is being carried out by the Mexican Army and authorities with the Tamaulipas government involving personnel in Ciudad Victoria and Nuevo Laredo. Authorities began the probes last week after gathering evidence that officers were moonlighting as cartel lookouts for two main organizations.
In the border city of Nuevo Laredo, the cops are believed to be working with the Cartel Del Noreste (CDN) faction of Los Zetas, while in Ciudad Victoria, the state capital, they are believed to be working with the Gulf Cartel.
Breitbart Texas spoke with Tamaulipas law enforcement sources who revealed that a large number of transit police officers do not have to face background checks. Some officers are not physically fit for the job due to age or health reasons, sources say.
The revelations come at a time when Ciudad Victoria has seen a rise in violence as the Gulf Cartel has reignited a turf war with the CDN-Los Zetas. Intelligence points to Gulf Cartel operators using transit police as lookouts.
In Nuevo Laredo, transit police officers are believed to use traffic stops as a way to gather information for the CDN-Los Zetas. The CDN-Los Zetas allegedly use transit police to also warn about military operations.
Editor’s Note: Breitbart Texas traveled to Mexico City and the 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 “Francisco Morales” from Tamaulipas.