As Mexico’s government continues to ignore impromptu cartel checkpoints and extortion operations along some of the main highways in the border state of Tamaulipas, travelers are now protesting.
Last week, protesters held two separate actions demanding that authorities do something about Gulf Cartel extortion and robberies. While the protests did result in a police and military response to the scene, officials have yet to actually use either Mexico’s National Guard or the Tamaulipas State Guard to address the security concerns.
Locals claim cartel gunmen are able to set up impromptu roadblocks to extort travelers. They say gunmen demand a “fee” to let them pass. “Transmigrants” or individuals moving junk cars to Central America are forced to pay $100 USD per vehicle.
Truckers and other commercial travelers are also forced to pay fees in Gulf Cartel’s territories.
The first protest took place in an area known as the “Y” along the highway that goes from San Fernando and splits to the border cities of Matamoros and Reynosa.
On the day of the protest, more than 100 people from cities like Soto La Marina and other nearby places stood in the middle of the road holding signs to close the highway for several hours. The group was made up of merchants, car dealers, tractor-trailer drivers, and fishermen.
The group also walked toward a military checkpoint along the same highway to demand action.
The following day, protesters gathered along a section of the highway that connects Ciudad Victoria with San Fernando. The group claimed that along the stretch of highway, Gulf Cartel gunmen operate with impunity. The gunmen operate primarily in the towns of Jimenez and Abasolo, however, they have made a point of roaming surrounding highways looking for travelers.
Locals claim that the highway robberies and extortion began in early December.
Protesters say that National Guardsmen have not been patrolling the highways, even though they are the entity tasked with the job.
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.