Two European countries reportedly warned their citizens about possible cartel terror attacks in Mexico. The warnings come as Mexico has seen a dramatic rise in terror-style attacks, such as random shootings at bars and the use of car bombs and other explosives by cartels.
In their November updates, both Great Britain and Switzerland warned their citizens that while traveling through Mexico, the danger of terrorism could be present. According to the newspaper La Silla Rota, which first reported on the travel warnings, the generalized state of violence that has rival cartels fighting each other often affects innocent victims who are simply at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Other European nations such as Germany and France do not mention terrorism but issue similar warnings to their tourists, claiming that criminal gangs (cartels) fight among each other and with police, with innocent bystanders routinely getting caught in the middle, La Silla Rota reported.
The U.S. Department of State continues to label parts of Mexico at its highest security risk with a level 4 — the same designation used for war-torn areas.
As Breitbart Texas reported, in late October, cartel gunmen used car bombs in a series of coordinated attacks targeting police officers and government buildings in the state of Guanajuato. Just last week, a group of gunmen in the central state of Queretaro stormed a local bar in the downtown area and began shooting into the crowd inside.
As Breitbart Texas reported, ten victims died in that attack, and 13 others sustained various injuries. Authorities later confirmed that the shooting was a targeted attack against a cell leader of a cartel by his rivals.
Just one day later, a similar attack in a bar took place in Mexico State, where gunmen shot 12 victims. In that attack, five victims died, while seven others sustained severe injuries.
Mexican government officials have largely minimized the terror-style attacks, claiming that cartel violence is not terrorism and that crime has been decreasing in Mexico.
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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