Gunmen Shot at, Tried to Kidnap Mexican Border City Mayor’s Father

Two gunmen tried to kidnap the father of a Mexican border city mayor and then shot at him as the gunmen tried to escape. The attack comes as Tamaulipas state officials continue to claim that the region is safe despite several recent high-profile kidnappings.

The incident occurred on Monday afternoon outside a convenience store in the Longoria neighborhood of Reynosa, Tamaulipas, where Luis Carlos Pena Garza had just parked his 2022 white Nissan Frontier, a statement from the Tamaulipas government revealed. Almost immediately, two gunmen tried to take him, but he resisted, and they were unable to carry out the abduction.

The gunmen got into a blue Nissan Sentra and tried to escape. According to authorities, Pena Garza chased after them in his vehicle and rammed their car twice during the pursuit. The gunmen fired at Pena Garza’s vehicle, striking it in the hood as they fled.

Soon after, authorities received a 911 call about the case and documented the crime scene. Reynosa Mayor Carlos Victor Pena Ortiz rushed to the scene and could be seen talking to security officials about the case.

The attempted kidnapping comes just days after the Tamaulipas Attorney General’s Office confirmed the disappearance of a U.S. citizen from Iowa who had just crossed into Reynosa through one of the ports of entry on August 9. As Breitbart Texas reported, the woman has not been seen since crossing the border despite authorities claiming to have carried out operations in an attempt to locate her.

Breitbart Texas also reported on two separate kidnappings where the victim’s loved ones and activists were forced to turn to social media and plead to the various factions of the Gulf Cartel for help after Tamaulipas authorities were unable to help them.

The kidnapping issue has become so prevalent in Reynosa that the U.S. Consulate in Matamoros has issued two separate travel alerts warning U.S. citizens. The alerts claim that gunmen have been taking U.S. citizens and residents from passenger buses and holding them for ransom as a way to force their loved ones to pay thousands for their release. The Tamaulipas government has dismissed the travel alerts, claiming that they are based on hearsay and not on their statistics, which point to the state being almost free of crime.

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.