A group of Mexican police officers talked a crying Gulf Cartel gunman into surrendering his gun. The gunman appeared to have been a migrant forced to join the criminal organization. He later asked to be sent back to his home country.
A video recorded by Tamaulipas police forces captured the encounter as a group of officers and Mexican soldiers surrounded a gunman. The team convinced the gunman to give up his gun and vest. The incident took place in the city of Camargo, a short distance from the Texas border when authorities on patrol spotted a gunman walking with a rifle and body armor.
“We understand, but how can I send you to your country like that,” said an unnamed police officer said in the video. “Help me, give the weapon to my commander so that you can leave to your country now … please, we are asking you, please.”
The migrant turned in the rifle to a Mexican Army soldier and began to cry as he shook the hand of the police officer. Other officers asked him to remove his body armor and began unstrapping the gunman’s gear.
“Calm down, calm down it already passed,” the officer said. “Calm down it’s over.”
The gunman removed his gear and began to take off a black tactical shirt before the video ended. It remains unclear if the gunman is facing charges or if they turned him over to Mexican immigration authorities. In the past, the Gulf Cartel and other criminal organizations have recruited or conscripted migrants into their ranks.
Breitbart Texas consulted with Tamaulipas law enforcement sources who revealed that the encounter took place this week in Camargo. This region is experiencing a spike in clashes over ongoing cartel turf wars in an area just south of Starr and Hidalgo Counties in Texas in an area known as La Riberena. That area is home to the main crossing corridors for the Gulf Cartel.
Despite government rhetoric about improving security conditions in Tamaulipas, the state continues to see a dramatic rise in violence including regular shootouts in border cities like Reynosa, Miguel Aleman, Camargo, and Matamoros.
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.