Mexican authorities are absent as gunmen carry out armed robberies targeting U.S. travelers along major highways.
The most recent case took place late last week in the state of Zacatecas where gunmen stopped a caravan of U.S. travelers, El Universal reported. The caravan included six vehicles carrying 22 individuals from California and Arizona. Their destination was the central state of Guanajuato.
As the group drove by the town of Fresnillo on Federal Highway 45 in daylight, gunmen stopped the caravan to steal the vehicles. The gunmen left the victims stranded and forced to walk toward help.
State authorities later helped the travelers reach their destination and claimed to be increasing patrols in the region. Zacatecas has become a hotbed of cartel violence in recent months due to turf wars.
In the border state of Tamaulipas, several highway robberies have also been reported, but officials are quiet about sharing formal statistics. Since a new governor took office in October, the state capital of Ciudad Victoria has become the deadliest city in the state.
In Tamaulipas and Zacatecas, travelers claim to not see any members of Mexico’s National Guard along highways. Such patrols are supposed to be a core mission for the Guard. According to El Excelsior, robberies have been reported near the town of Soto La Marina. Breitbart Texas has been able to document additional robberies between San Fernando and the border city of Matamoros, as well as between Monterrey and the border city of Reynosa.
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.
“E.F. Robles” and “C.P. Mireles” from Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project contributed to this report.
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