Migrants in the border city of Matamoros, Tamaulipas, are in fear of violent reactions by the Gulf Cartel after a group of migrants from Venezuela charged people to cross the waters of the Rio Grande. The move drew the attention of the Gulf Cartel as the criminal organization controls all illegal crossings in the region.
The Gulf Cartel has been threatening, and assaulting migrants and last week even had some of their gunmen torch various tents at a makeshift migrant camp. The action from the criminal organization pushed hundreds of migrants to make a run for one of the ports of entry last week. U.S. authorities closed off the bridge in order to keep the migrants from forcing their way across the river.
Breitbart Texas spoke with Lili, a 22-year-old woman from Venezuela who has been camping in a tent on the banks of the Rio Grande. Last week, Lili, like hundreds of others, made a run for Gateway International Bridge on the day that a group of gunmen from the Gulf Cartel arrived at the migrant camp and began setting fire to tents.
The gunmen shouted that crossing was their job and that they (other migrants who were crossing the river) were not supposed to do that, the woman said.
“When we saw what was happening, we moved to the bridge hoping they would let us in,” Lili said. “But they only closed the bridge and did not give us any answers. We waited for hours and then left.”
Lily remains in Matamoros awaiting her opportunity to be allowed to enter the U.S. and make claim asylum. Despite the offer of crossing the river in a raft, she claimed she and others had already risked too much to take a chance.
In the days after the attack, more than 2,000 Venezuelan migrants crossed the Rio Grande and surrendered to U.S. authorities in hopes of being released.
“There are still many of us here,” Lily added. “Others continue to arrive each day. I can’t give you a number but it’s growing.”
Tensions continued to build as the group of Venezuelan migrants that was crossing people for profit continued to do so using makeshift rafts and wooden pallets as bridges.
The group charges between $200 to $500 Pesos (approximately $10 to 25 US Dollars), in comparison to the $300 to $500 USD charged by the Gulf Cartel.
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 their original Spanish. This article was written by “J.A. Espinoza” and “J.C. Sanchez” from Tamaulipas.
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