More Shootouts Expected as Gulf Cartel Infighting Continues

REYNOSA, Tamaulipas – Hastily painted graffiti in Spanish over the sidewalk at an international bridge serves as a dire warning to those travelling to and from Mexico.

The five letters spray painted in Spanish “Yo CDG” on the concrete serve as a reminder to readers that they are in Gulf Cartel territory, the same territory that for two weeks has been subjected to almost daily firefights as various factions of the cartel fight for control of the areas just south of the Texas border.As the organization’s leadership has weakened, the criminal organization has polarized into rival regional factions with some harsh rivalries and grudges, a Tamaulipas law enforcement official who asked for his name to be kept confidential citing security reasons.A memo leaked to Breitbart Texas by Mexican authorities that appears to be from the Gulf Cartel states that there is an “internal cleanup” within the criminal group and that things will be hectic in the coming days.

The most recent series of firefight took place on Thursday morning in Matamoros near the exit of the Veteran’s International Bridge -known in Mexico as Los Tomates Bridge –forcing authorities to divert traffic. The U.S. Consulate General Office in Matamoros which is just south of Brownsville, took to social media to warn Americans about the shootouts near the shopping center by the bridge shortly after 8:30 a.m., just before 9:30 a.m. consular officials sent out a second notice stating that the shootout was over in that area.

A Tamaulipas law enforcement official stated that the fighting continued sporadically throughout the city and included a group of gunmen torching a convenience store for unknown reasons.

Just a day prior, seven gunmen died in two separate clashes between members of organized crime and the Mexican military in two rough areas of Matamoros.

On Sunday, Mexican soldiers looking into a house that had gunfire damage ended up finding an underground bunker with various weapons, ammunition, gas masks and steel plates. In a separate but related raid, authorities arrested three gunmen and seized a weapons cache with various assault rifles, more than 19,000 rounds of ammunition, and 110 pieces of tactical gear including ammunition slings, helmets, and plate carriers.

The shootouts follow a rash of shootings and blockades along the border including Reynosa and Rio Bravo where rival factions of the Gulf Cartel have fought for control of the area as well as tried to keep the Zetas from re-entering the area.

The Gulf Cartel and the Zetas split up in 2010 setting off a bloody war that continues to this day. Mexican authorities expect the conflicts to continue in the coming days.

Follow Ildefonso Ortiz on Twitter: @ildefonsoortiz.

NOTE: The unredacted message leaked to Breitbart Texas:Hay muchos problemas internos en el CDG en Matamoros, pero nadie se va a meter al rancho ni reynosa ni riobravo, menos zetas / la gente se mueve pero no sabe en realidad como están las cosas, se viene una limpia seria en la plaza, pero son mandos que no se quieren alinear, pero hay demasiagente lloguera que se creen que lo saben todo por que un amigo de su primo vecino del hermano que conoce al chalan que le lava los tapetes del carro le informa de todo, es como un teléfono descompuesto por que todo mundo le va agregando más de su cosecha. Hasta distorsionar el mensaje que ni siquiera era cierto, si estamos pasando todos por algo difícil pero todo es para mejor se van a mantener los que quieran alinearse al mando, los demás les van a dar piso por traicionerosAttn: CDG

There are many internal problems in the CDG (Gulf Cartel) in Matamoros, but no one is going to get into the town, not Reynosa, not Rio Bravo, much less zetas/ The people are moving but they don’t know how things really are, a serious cleaning of the plaza in coming, but they are bosses that don’t want to fall in line, but there are a lot of jug carriers (reference to fuel thieves) that think they know everything because a friend off their cousin’s neighbor brother told them that they know they maid that washes the floormats of thecar tell him everything, its like a broken telephone because everyone adds their own flavor to it. Until the message is so distorted that is not even true, we are going through something difficult but everything is for the better we will keep those who fall in line, the rest we will kill for traitors.Attn: CDG (Gulf Cartel)