Mexican Army Clashes with Gulf Cartel Gunmen After Drone Bombings

Mexican military forces clashed with Gulf Cartel gunmen in the border city of Rio Bravo, Tamaulipas. The clashes come after months of military forces avoiding direct conflict with gunmen. The shift in strategy comes after Gulf Cartel gunmen began using drones to drop explosive devices on rival gunmen and police forces in areas just south of the Texas border.

Breitbart Texas obtained a video shot by a resident in Rio Bravo who was forced to shelter inside her house during one of the shootouts over the weekend. During that intense shootout, a group of Gulf Cartel gunmen can be seen running away from military forces, and one of them collapsed on the ground after apparently being hit. The gunman raises his hands while Mexican soldiers check him for weapons and arrest him.

In a military after-action report provided to Breitbart Texas, the Mexican Army revealed that the military was patrolling the area when they spotted two gunmen moving along Constitution Avenue and tried to stop them. After the confrontation and shootout, authorities found three rifles and 44 loaded magazines in the vehicle.

The shootout in Rio Bravo comes days after Gulf Cartel gunmen used modified drones to drop explosives on police forces. In one of those attacks, the gunmen fatally injured Officer Pedro Pablo Penaflor, who died after spending two days in intensive care. His partner remains under medical care but is expected to recover.

For several months, the Gulf Cartel has been using explosives in an ongoing turf war.  As Breitbart Texas exclusively reported, the Gulf Cartel hired a former U.S. soldier to help them build explosive devices in Rio Bravo. Government officials tried to downplay the use of exploding drones, land mines, and other IEDs that gunmen have been using.

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.