Public officials in the border state of Tamaulipas are working to marginalize the violence that is spreading through their cities. Violence escalated in recent days as rival cartels fight for control of drug and human trafficking routes. The violence manifested itself in numerous blockades inside multiple cities while convoys of gunmen in armored vehicles fight in the outskirts and along key highways.
As Breitbart Texas reported, the violence in Tamaulipas kicked off late last week as rival factions of the Gulf Cartel from Reynosa (Metros) and Matamoros (Escorpion/Ciclones) reignited their conflict. A shift in support from the Old School Zetas in San Fernando in addition to the alleged arrival of gunmen from Cartel Jalisco New Generation in several armored SUVs further escalated the conflict as citizen journalists reported confrontations near the cities of San Fernando, Jimenez, Matamoros, and Reynosa.
On Monday, Francisco Cuellar, the Tamaulipas head of public information, took to social media to criticize citizen journalists who reported on the various shootouts and blockades throughout the state.
Cuellar claimed that the Tamaulipas Public Security Secretariat provided factual and timely information about the violence on Sunday. He added that the state was at peace and safe. He claims individuals tied to a prior administration pushed lies and disinformation to generate the wrong perception.
The statement that Cuellar referred to pointed to blockades and a clash in San Fernando where authorities killed two gunmen. However, the statement did not address the prior clashes between rival gunmen. That statement went up on social media more than four hours after the shootouts ended. At the time of the shootouts, locals were not given any timely warnings to avoid traveling to the areas of conflict or to avoid certain highways.
State officials also claimed on local TV programs that CJNG had not entered Tamaulipas. They claimed the criminal organization uses professional decals on their vehicles and that the ones found in Tamaulipas had been scrawled over with paint.
Despite the various shootouts and blockades, Tamaulipas Governor Americo Villarreal has not made any mention of the violence on social media opting only to send birthday well wishes and celebrations of special days.
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.