Current:Home > NewsFeuding drug cartels block roads near U.S. border as gunmen force children off school bus-LoTradeCoin
Feuding drug cartels block roads near U.S. border as gunmen force children off school bus
View Date:2024-12-23 23:26:34
Feuding Mexican cartels briefly blocked roads Tuesday in the border city of Matamoros, across from Brownsville, Texas. At one point, gunmen forced middle-school students off a school bus and used the vehicle as a blockade.
Roads were quickly cleared and officials claimed that one death reported early Tuesday morning was not related to the blockades.
At about a dozen points in and around the city, gunmen carjacked vehicles and left them parked across roadways. The military deployed about 700 troops and two helicopters to quell the violence.
Officials in the northern state of Tamaulipas said the blockages were caused by battles between two rival cartels. Matamoros has long been dominated by the Gulf cartel, but it has splintered into warring factions, one of which is reportedly allied with the Jalisco cartel.
State police chief Sergio Hernando Chávez told local media that "there was a confrontation between rival organized crime groups."
He said all the children aboard the hijacked bus were unharmed.
On Monday, in the same area, police said they had arrested a top lieutenant of the violent Metros faction of the Gulf cartel implicated in 23 attacks on police and nine against military personnel. The suspect was identified as Hugo Salinas Cortinas, whose nickname "La Cabra" means "The Goat."
The Gulf cartel has splintered into warring factions following the arrest and extradition of some of its top leaders over the decade.
The arrest of Salinas Cortinas came just weeks after the brother of Miguel Villarreal, aka "Gringo Mike," a former Gulf Cartel plaza boss, was sentenced in Houston to 180 months in prison for his role in distributing cocaine.
One of Mexico's oldest organized crime groups, the Gulf Cartel is based in the city of Matamoros, directly across from the U.S. border in Brownsville, Texas. The cartel has been losing strength in recent years as rivals and internal factions fight for control of drug-trafficking routes into the U.S. along the border.
The Scorpions faction of the Gulf cartel was allegedly responsible for the recent kidnapping of four Americans and the deaths of two of them.
Cara Tabachnick contributed to this report.
- In:
- Mexico
- Cartel
veryGood! (4743)
Related
- Michigan soldier’s daughter finally took a long look at his 250 WWII letters
- Warming Trends: Cruise Ship Impacts, a Vehicle Inside the Hurricane’s Eye and Anticipating Climate Tipping Points
- Inside Clean Energy: Fact-Checking the Energy Secretary’s Optimism on Coal
- Extreme heat exceeding 110 degrees expected to hit Southwestern U.S.
- The Daily Money: Markets react to Election 2024
- Eggs prices drop, but the threat from avian flu isn't over yet
- U.S. employers added 517,000 jobs last month. It's a surprisingly strong number
- Chris Eubanks, unlikely Wimbledon star, on surreal, whirlwind tournament experience
- Crews battle 'rapid spread' conditions against Jennings Creek fire in Northeast
- We asked the new AI to do some simple rocket science. It crashed and burned
Ranking
- MLS playoff teams set: Road to MLS Cup continues with conference semifinals
- Is Jenna Ortega Returning to You? Watch the Eyebrow-Raising Teaser for Season 5
- A century of fire suppression is worsening wildfires and hurting forests
- Turbulence during Allegiant Air flight hospitalizes 4 in Florida
- Black women notch historic Senate wins in an election year defined by potential firsts
- Increased Flooding and Droughts Linked to Climate Change Have Sent Crop Insurance Payouts Skyrocketing
- Blackjewel’s Bankruptcy Filing Is a Harbinger of Trouble Ahead for the Plummeting Coal Industry
- Urging Biden to Stop Line 3, Indigenous-Led Resistance Camps Ramp Up Efforts to Slow Construction
Recommendation
-
Justine Bateman feels like she can breathe again in 'new era' after Trump win
-
Illinois and Ohio Bribery Scandals Show the Perils of Mixing Utilities and Politics
-
How Asia's ex-richest man lost nearly $50 billion in just over a week
-
Rumer Willis Shares Photo of Bruce Willis Holding First Grandchild
-
John Krasinski Details Moment He Knew Wife Emily Blunt Was “the One”
-
You Can't Help Falling in Love With Jacob Elordi as Elvis in Priscilla Biopic Poster
-
Titanic Submersible Disappearance: “Underwater Noises” Heard Amid Massive Search
-
Inside Clean Energy: Sunrun and Vivint Form New Solar Goliath, Leaving Tesla to Play David