After trying to hide information, the government of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas was forced to issue a series of warnings about the widespread use of cartel land mines and explosive devices in the northern part of the state. The warnings followed initial reporting by Breitbart Texas of a government vehicle striking a makeshift landmine near the state’s border with the U.S.
As Breitbart Texas reported, last Wednesday, two employees with Mexico’s National Water Commission (CONAGUA) sustained injuries after their work vehicle exploded from driving over a land mine left by Gulf Cartel gunmen in an area between the cities of Rio Bravo and Reynosa, Tamaulipas. A few days later, a farmer sustained similar injuries when he drove his tractor over another landmine in a rural area near the city of San Fernando, Tamaulipas.
Security alert issued by the Tamaulipas government warning about cartel explosive devices.
In both cases, government officials pressured local Mexican news outlets not to publish information about the incidents. Details of the incidents leaked to social media.
Tractor damaged by a cartel landmine in Tamaulipas. (Credit: Breitbart Texas / Cartel Chronicles)
Breitbart Texas published exclusive information about the first explosion and reviewed internal documents from CONAGUA that provided additional details.
Truck from Mexico’s National Water Commission that went over a landmine. (Breitbart Texas / Cartel Chronicles)
Soon after that report, the Tamaulipas government sent out a series of warnings about buried explosive devices. The notice warned people in particular communities not to handle suspicious devices and to call 911 immediately.
The spokesman for security issues in Tamaulipas, Jorge Cuellar, continued to minimize and, at times, deny most of the violent incidents. These include large-scale shootouts, kidnappings, targeted killings, and forced disappearances, taking place throughout the state, Breitbart Texas reported.
As Breitbart Texas reported, for over a year, two factions of the Gulf Cartel have been waging a fierce turf war for control of lucrative drug and human smuggling routes. This turf war is responsible for most of the violence in the northern part of the state. In their shootouts, the Gulf Cartel has been using convoys of armored vehicles filled with gunmen. As a way to stop these vehicles, cartel gunmen began using explosives. Gunmen have used makeshift landmines, makeshift explosives, and even weaponized drones to drop explosives on their enemies and police forces.
Editor’s Note: Breitbart Texas traveled to Mexico City and the states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, and Nuevo León to recruit citizen journalists willing to risk their lives and expose the cartels silencing their communities. The writers would face certain death at the hands of the various cartels that operate in those areas including the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas if a pseudonym were not used. Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles are published in both English and their original Spanish. This article was written by “J.C. Sanchez” and “J.A. Martinez” from Tamaulipas.
