Cartel gunmen and Mexican Army soldiers clashed right at the Texas border in a fierce shootout where three gunmen died. The gunfight spread terror among motorists trying to cross one of the area’s international ports of entry. The shootout is one of several clashes that have taken place in that location as rival factions of the Gulf Cartel fight for control of the region, while government officials in Mexico try to minimize the situation and claim all is safe.
The shootout took place on Wednesday shortly after 1:30 p.m. just below the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge. A stranded motorist on top of the bridge captured video from the shootout.
Mexican military forces had been patrolling the area when they encountered a group of cartel gunmen and tried to apprehend them. The gunmen and the military forces clashed in a heavy exchange of gunfire followed by a high-speed chase that ended when authorities killed three gunmen who were riding in a Ford F-150.
The area under the port of entry is known as La Nopalera and has been the scene of several shootouts in recent days as rival factions of the Gulf Cartel carry out a fierce turf war. The Reynosa faction of the Gulf Cartel staged a large number of gunmen on the eastern side of the city, including La Nopalera to keep rival gunmen that are in the city of Rio Bravo from entering Reynosa.
Despite the intensity of the gunbattles, Mexican government officials at the state and federal levels have been working to minimize the issue claiming that all is safe and the confrontations are exaggerated.
After the shootout, U.S. Representative Tony Gonzalez took to social media to call out political rivals who have opposed various border security measures including designating drug cartels as terrorist organizations.
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.
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