Mexican drug cartels have again resorted to terror-style tactics by planting dozens of landmines in an ongoing turf war for control of drug trafficking routes into Texas.
This week, Tamaulipas State Police discovered landmines and IEDs planted along dirt roads in the northern part of the state. The discoveries were all made along roads that connect the cities of Rio Bravo, San Fernando, and Valle Hermoso in the state of Tamaulipas.
The area is currently contested by two main rival factions: Los Metros and the Gulf Cartel known as Los Escolpines. Authorities have not determined which faction planted the mines. A law enforcement source told Breitbart Texas that after the initial discovery, government officials instructed state troopers to remain calm and leave the device where it was. The next day, authorities began disabling the devices they discovered. However, dozens more land mines have been planted along country roads in the area, and it is believed local farmers are at risk.
Law enforcement officials provided Breitbart, Texas, with photos of the landmines and said they are homemade with remote detonators that can be detonated at some distance from the explosives.
As Breitbart Texas reported, other Mexican drug cartels, including Cartel Jalisco New Generation and Carteles Unidos, manufacture explosives in clandestine factories in Jalisco and Michoacán. The use of landmines and other devices has increased even as the Mexican government claims violence has decreased. Indeed, violence continues to spread, reaching once-peaceful areas such as beach resorts and tourist hubs in central Mexico.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist at Breitbart Texas. He co-founded the Breitbart, Texas Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and Breitbart’s senior management team.you can follow him twitter And even more Facebook. He can be contacted at: iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded the Breitbart Texas Cartel His Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and Breitbart’s senior management team.please follow him twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at: bdarby@breitbart.com.
