The U.S. Consulate in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, issued a travel warning about drug cartels using land mines and other explosive devices in key border cities in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. After initially trying to conceal information about those devices and having previously tried to discredit previous alerts dealing with cartel kidnappings, the Tamaulipas government claimed to welcome the warnings and asked the public to be careful when moving through rural dirt roads.
Earlier this week, the U.S. Consulate in Matamoros sent a travel warning stating that shootouts have become common in and around Reynosa, particularly in the late hours and early morning.
The warning mentions a second concern dealing with the increased use of improvised explosive devices by cartel gunmen in the cities of Reynosa, Rio Bravo, San Fernando, and Valle Hermoso. The notice further details the recent explosion of a government vehicle that drove over a cartel landmine.
In the travel warning, U.S. consular officials listed the state of Tamaulipas as a level 4, the same designation used for active war zones.
Consular officials also warned travelers to:
- Avoid dirt roads. Stay on paved roads.
- Do not touch unknown objects on or near roads.
- Plan travel during daylight hours
- Monitor local media for updates.
- Be aware of your surroundings.
- Notify friends and family of your safety.
The travel warning referred to last week’s explosion of a truck from Mexico’s National Water Commission, where two of its employees sustained injuries after driving over a cartel land mine. As Breitbart Texas initially reported, Mexican government officials tried to suppress any information about the explosion and pressured local news outlets not to publish any information.
However, Breitbart Texas had access to internal reports from Mexico’s government detailing the explosion and other details of the case. Just hours after Breitbart Texas published the report, the Tamaulipas Government sent out a flyer warning locals in various communities about buried explosives used by organized crime.
When asked about the consular warning, Tamaulipas Governor Americo Villarreal said it was a welcome move because it helped get the message out. The politician’s response differs significantly from responses to prior consular travel warnings given by his staff members. As Breitbart Texas reported, Jorge Cuellar, the Tamaulipas spokesman for security issues, has previously criticized the U.S. Consulate in Matamoros for having sent a travel warning about kidnappings where gunmen targeted U.S. travelers on passenger buses. Cuellar has also lied in the past in attempts to downplay the raging cartel violence that continues to take place throughout Tamaulipas.
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”, “Francisco Morales” and “J.A. Espinoza” from Tamaulipas.
