A group of Gulf Cartel gunmen set fire to a state police armored vehicle after a violent shootout just south of the Texas border. The gunmen outnumbered and outgunned a squad of police officers. The officers were forced to run away after military and federal police forces (National Guard) refused to answer their calls for help.
Breitbart Texas obtained exclusive information about an unreported shootout last week near the city of Rio Bravo, Tamaulipas, just south of the border with Donna, Texas. In that shootout, two officers sustained various injuries, but no lawmen died after being forced to flee for their lives.
The clash occurred when a squad of officers riding in Mamba armored vehicles tried to patrol the dirt roads surrounding Rio Bravo. A law enforcement source in Tamaulipas who spoke with Breitbart Texas on the condition of anonymity revealed that the officers had previously been warned to avoid Rio Bravo.
Armored police vehicle used by Tamaulipas Police. (Credit: Tamaulipas State Police)
As the officers moved their vehicles, they suddenly found themselves surrounded by a large group of gunmen in more than 20 vehicles. The gunmen began firing their weapons and used explosive devices to attack the state police. While trying to fight off the attack, the officers repeatedly called for backup, but no military or federal forces responded.
Two of the officers sustained various injuries that are not considered life-threatening, and the whole squad was able to fall back and flee. The unit left one of their Mambas vehicles behind that had been disabled after being hit by multiple high-powered weapons.
After the shootout, the gunmen set fire to the police vehicle, leaving behind the flaming truck as a war trophy.
The region is controlled by the Escorpiones faction of the Gulf Cartel, which has been clashing with a rival faction in Reynosa. Due to these ongoing clashes, the Escorpiones have deployed a large number of gunmen in armored vehicles to Rio Bravo. The cartel has also been using landmines and explosive devices to stop its rivals. As Breitbart Texas exclusively reported, the Escorpiones have hired former U.S. Army soldiers to build landmines and improvised explosive devices and for the use of drones to drop IEDs on rivals and police.
Explosive devices left by cartel gunmen in Rio Bravo, Tamaulipas. (Credit: Breitbart Texas / Cartel Chronicles
The lack of official information about the shootout follows a pattern set by the Tamaulipas government, which tries to limit, hide, deny, and even lie about anything that could paint the state or its leadership in a negative light.
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 “Francisco Morales”, “J.C. Sanchez”, and “J.A. Espinoza” from Tamaulipas.
