Violence at the US Border

The Extreme Violence at the US / Mexico Border Continues to be Ignored by the Media.

As I scour the news looking for information pertinent to our readers, I can’t help but think that if any of this news were ever reported by major news outlets, more Americans just might be interested in a wall.

Here is a quick update on the violence in Mexico over the past 30 days, limited to the border region and tied to the drug cartels:

• The kidnapping of a seven-year-old U.S. citizen by three gunmen set off a large scale rescue operation. The search was carried out by Mexican state and local law enforcement officials who coordinated with the FBI and personnel from the U.S. Embassy. The child was later found safe and unharmed. The Zeta cartel is suspected to have orchestrated the abduction.
• Authorities continue to investigate a double homicide where a group of gunmen executed a young couple on the banks of the Rio Grande River and set their vehicle on fire. The bodies were discovered on a known drug trafficking route.
• A commercial truck driver from the border city of Eagle Pass was murdered in the area setting off an investigation that continues to puzzle local authorities. The truck driver has beed reported missing in Texas days prior to the discovery of his body in Mexico.
• One of the leading commanders within the faction of the Gulf Cartel who controls Rio Bravo was apprehended by Mexican federal authorities but was suspiciously released days later.
• A cannon used by Mexican cartel smugglers to shoot drugs over the U.S. border was seized by authorities. The cannon was housed in a van which had been converted to transport the weapon, modified to to shoot large drug bundles over the border fence between the Mexican state of Sonora and Arizona.
• A group of cartel gunmen murdered the wrong person before dressing him up in tactical gear to cover up their error. This year there have been at least six murders in Monterrey where gunmen have executed the wrong victim..
• The mayor of Cuidad Acuna has been named in a cartel message as one of the individuals who allegedly provides protection to a faction of the Los Zetas cartel.
• Government officials from Piedras Negras have confirmed that cartel gunmen hijacked and kidnapped 15 passengers from a bus that was headed from Tamaulipas to Coahuila. While the Tamaulipas government remains silent, the fate of the victims remains unknown.
• A shootout at the state prosecutor’s office in the Mexican state of Jalisco left two dead and three injured–occurring inside what was said to be a secure government building in a country with very strict gun laws.
• The ongoing cartel war between factions of the Los Zetas continues to bring terror, murders and kidnappings to Cuidad Victoria. The fear brought by this wave of crime has been worsened by the silence on the part of Mexican authorities as three more bodies have were discovered.
• More violence erupted in Matamoros when three innocent bystanders including a pregnant woman were shot. Two gunmen also died in the gun battle. Matamoros sits immediately across the U.S.-Mexico border from Brownsville, Texas.
• Business leaders in Matamoros have once again sounded the alarm about highway travel after a recent increase in robberies, carjackings and kidnappings.
• Mexican border battle kills 10 gunmen and an innocent bystander in Nuevo Laredo.
• A state police officer reportedly gunned down a fellow cop for refusing to rob and rape a woman. The murder suspect lashed out in anger at the refusal by his partner to carry out the crime in the suburb Nuevo Leon, shot his partner and raped the woman. The man hunt continues for the officer who had previously been accused of raping other women, though no charges had been filed for lack of evidence.
• Seven vehicles with gunmen clashed with Mexican military forces during a fierce battle in the the downtown streets mere blocks from the border with Texas. The fighting occurred Thursday morning in the downtown area of Reynosa near the intersection of Guerrero Avenue and Arteaga Street when a convoy of seven vehicles with members of the Cartel Del Noreste faction of the Los Zetas cartel clashed with Mexican military forces that had set up roadblocks.
• Mexican authorities continue to cover up the ongoing cartel violence that takes place throughout Tamaulipas, particularly in the gun battles where cartel gunmen get the upper hand. In one recent gun battle, the Gulf Cartel was able to mobilize a large number of gunmen–forcing police officers in Reynosa to retreat from one neighborhood known for being filled with stash houses.
• The Mexican government has remained silent in the days after a group of cartel gunmen shot and set fire to three of their rivals.
• Terror spread through border region as cartel gunmen in Miguel Aleman clashed with state police officers and Mexican soldiers in two separate gun battles that left four dead and 10 injured.
• Cartel kidnappings and murders continue to touch well known families in Piedras Negras, which sits immediately across the border from Eagle Pass, Texas–bringing a layer of uncertainty and concern to the residents who have seen much crime and violence in recent years.
• A regional leader for the Gulf Cartel and one of his top associates have been kidnapped, tortured and murdered by rival members from their own cartel. The cartel leader had spent a considerable amount of time hiding in Texas.
• Authorities in Piedras Negras continue searching for answers as to the final resting place of hundreds of victims who were kidnapped and likely incinerated by members of the Los Zetas drug cartel.

Drugs are big business and there seems no end to the violence these warring factions will commit in their fight for dominance. And to display their might these ruthless gangs hang bodies from bridges, dump severed body parts on sidewalks, and have turned kidnapping into an industry. Major gun battles with authorities occur regularly on Mexican city streets directly across the border from U.S. cities (often called sister cities) but since it isn’t happening in America, France or the U.K., it gets no media attention whatsoever. Ask yourself why.