Drug cartels in Mexico resorted, once again, to terror-style tactics by deploying dozens of landmines in their ongoing turf war for control of lucrative drug trafficking routes into Texas.
This week, Tamaulipas State Police officers discovered land mines and IEDs planted along dirt roads in the northern part of the state. The discoveries took place along roads connecting the cities of Rio Bravo, San Fernando, and Valle Hermoso — all located in Tamaulipas.
That region is currently being fought over by two main rival factions of the Gulf Cartel known as Los Metros and Los Escorpiones. Authorities have not determined which faction planted the mines. Law enforcement sources revealed to Breitbart Texas that after the initial discovery, government officials told the state police officers not to make waves and to leave the devices where they were. In the following days, authorities began disabling the devices they found; however, dozens of more mines are believed to have been planted along rural roads in the region, placing local farmers at risk.
A law enforcement source provided Breitbart Texas with photographs of the mines and revealed that they are made by hand with a remote detonator that can be tripped at some distance from the explosives.
As Breitbart Texas reported, other drug cartels in Mexico, including Cartel Jalisco New Generation and Carteles Unidos, have been manufacturing explosives in clandestine factories in Jalisco and Michoacan. The increased use of land mines and other devices comes as Mexico’s government has been claiming that violence has decreased. In reality, violence has continued to spread and has reached once-peaceful areas, including beach resorts and tourism hubs in central Mexico.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.
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