Ten cartel gunmen died, and four police officers sustained various injuries during a shootout in Mexico on a highway that connects the border city of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, with the Monterrey, Nuevo León, metropolitan area. Nuevo Laredo is tightly controlled by the Cartel del Noreste faction of Los Zetas — one of the most ruthless criminal organizations in Mexico which is responsible for thousands of kidnappings, murders, and forced disappearances.
The large-scale gunbattle took place on Monday afternoon along the Monterrey-Nuevo Laredo highway near the town of Cienega de Flores, Nuevo León. According to information released by Nuevo Leon’s Public Security Secretary Gerardo Palacios Pamanes, a squad of state police officers from Fuerza Civil were patrolling the highway when they encountered a group of gunmen riding in three armored vehicles.
The gunmen fired at the police officers setting off a rolling shootout as the officer fought off the gunmen and called for backup. During the attack one of the police vehicles rolled over, injuring three officers. The fourth injured officer sustained a gunshot wound during the fighting.
As additional officers responded to the scene, they overwhelmed the gunmen. At the end of the shootout, authorities killed three gunmen and seized the three armored vehicles. Authorities also seized various weapons including grenades that the gunmen had in their vehicles.
The violence in Nuevo Leon comes at a time when the Cartel Del Noreste faction of Los Zetas has been able to set up roadblocks where they extort and sometimes kidnap travelers with almost complete impunity. While the gunmen are trying to keep rivals from entering Nuevo Laredo, often they kidnap innocent victims.
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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