Local university students were evacuated after cartel gunmen and Tamaulipas state police clashed near a university campus in the Mexican border city of Matamoros.
The conflict broke out on Wednesday afternoon near the highway west of Matamoros, which connects it with Reynosa, Tamaulipas state. At the scene, cartel gunmen in various vehicles, including armored trucks, clashed with state police in a brief but intense gunfight.
Videos shared on social media recorded audio of gunshots as students from a nearby university campus (UANE) evacuated during the shootout.
Official government information revealed that four gunmen were killed and authorities arrested three other gunmen. Authorities also seized an armored vehicle and several weapons. After the crash, state investigators closed the highway between Reynosa and Matamoros for about two hours while they documented the crime scene and cleaned the area.
The gunfight occurred just two days after new Matamoros Mayor Jose Alberto Granados took office. It remains to be seen whether Granados will speak out about cartel activity and violence in the city, or join in the silence of negative information like former Mayor Mario “La Borrega” López.
As Breitbart Texas reported, the Gulf Cartel had key members in top positions during the Lopez administration. One of them, Pedro “El Polaris” Hernandez Quiroga, was a convicted member of the Gulf Cartel who, after his release, became one of Matamoros' top paramedics under the López administration. El Polaris and others came under intense scrutiny after the Gulf Cartel used an ambulance in Matamoros to transport four American citizens who were kidnapped in 2023.
Two of the victims died in the incident, but it was revealed that the Gulf Cartel transported them in an ambulance and took them to a local clinic. The only arrests made in the case came after the kidnapping attracted international attention and significant political pressure, when the Gulf Cartel handed over the five gunmen and put up posters apologizing.
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 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.
