Several cities throughout Mexico have been forced to cancel their traditional Independence Day celebration due to widespread cartel violence.
Historically, every September 15 at night, the president, each governor, and each mayor hold a celebration at their Plaza Square where they remember the start of Mexico’s Independence.
During that celebration, they ring a bell while shouting a call to arms, death to a bad government, and the traditional “Viva Mexico.” The party is meant to commemorate the same call to arms known as “Grito de Dolores” given by Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla on September 15, 1810, when he called on the people to fight off European colonialism.
The most dramatic event occurred earlier this week when Sinaloa’s Governor Ruben Rocha Moya announced that they would cancel their events for security reasons. As Breitbart Texas has reported, the state of Sinaloa is ground zero for a fierce turf war waged between two factions of the Sinaloa Cartel following the arrest of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada through a perceived betrayal by Los Chapitos, a faction made up of the sons of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman who is currently serving a term of life in prison in the United States.
However, at least eight municipalities in the border state of Nuevo Leon and several in the state of Sinaloa have canceled their celebration due to two separate cartel turf wars taking place in their respective states.
In Nuevo Leon, city officials in eight separate municipalities canceled their celebration following a wave of cartel attacks. The municipalities that canceled their events include Linares, Doctor Coss, Los Herrera, Los Aldama, Iturbide Cadereyta, Galeana, and Zaragoza.
According to law enforcement sources consulted by Breitbart Texas, the violence comes after the Cartel Del Norest faction of Los Zetas made a push into territories controlled by the Gulf Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel in an attempt to push them out. Cartel gunmen even hung banners taking responsibility for the attacks.
Nuevo Leon’s governor, Samuel Garcia, has been harshly criticized for giving the appearance of ignoring the security issue.
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.