At least 18 deaths have been recorded in a bloody night of clashes between rival groups of gunmen Padilla, Tamaulipas, a municipality of 14,000 inhabitants located north of the state capitol of Ciudad Victoria.
Padilla is located several miles from Don Alejo Garza Tamez’s San Jose ranch, where the ranch owner and avid hunter died in a firefight with alleged Zetas who attempted to seize the property in November, 2010.
In a night of panic and terror that began just before midnight Sunday seven bodies were abandoned outside the palacio municipal (municipal government’s offices) on the main plaza of the town. Ten other bodies were found at other locations within the municipality.
In addition to the palacio municipal, the buildings housing the town’s judicial court and police station were heavily damaged by gunfire.
A communiqué from the Tamaulipas state government confirmed that
one family, both parents and three children, were reported killed on the main highway at the outskirts of the town.
Also confirmed was the death of an innocent civilian on the same highway when armed gunmen shot at a passenger bus and seized it in order to block the road and deny access to the authorities. Three passengers were reported injured by the gunfire and one of them, a woman, died after being transported to a hospital in Ciudad Victoria.
The deaths of five other residents of Padilla was also confirmed in the government’s statement.
It was reported that the seven bodies abandoned in main plaza had been executed elsewhere.
The town of Padilla was sealed off Monday morning by state and federal police and units of the Mexican army.
In Ciudad Victoria the Grupo de Seguridad Tamaulipas, composed of state and federal authorities and tasked with coordinating security in the state, met Monday to review security measures and attend to the incident in Padilla
A survey of websites of all the main daily newspapers in Tamaulipas showed only one daily, El Occidental de Tampico, covering the bloodbath in Padilla. No other newspaper website covered any substantial story on organized crime in the state.
One story on hoylaredo.net, a Nuevo Laredo internet news service, ran a story about two municipal police officers assaulted Sunday night by Mexican Army soldiers. One officer was beaten with a baseball bat while the other, a female, was punched in the face. (Tamaulipas municipal police officers are routinely accused of working for or being co-opted by drug cartels)
Obviously, the Grupo de Seguridad Tamaulipas needs not a review but a complete overhaul of security measures.
In other news from Tamaulipas, unofficial reports from citizen’s internet forums in the border city of Matamoros Monday evening spoke of a grenade attack at around 7:00 PM outside of a 7-11 convenience store on Abasolo st.
Estimates of the injured numbered between 8 and 10 including one young child. No deaths were reported.
Sources:
Al menos 18 muertos en Padilla…….
http://www.vanguardia.com.mx/almenos18muertosenpadillatamaulipasporataquedecomandoarmado-650716.html
Masacre en Padilla…….
http://www.oem.com.mx/eloccidental/notas/n1965746.htm
Tamaulipas confimra asesinato de 18 personas
http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/744789.html
Golpean a policies municipales
http://www.hoylaredo.net/NOTICIAS1/NOTAS1/036091%20nuevo%20laredo%20Golpean%20a%20policias%20municipales.htm
Why would they transport the lady shot on the bus to Ciudad Juarez??
ReplyDeleteCiudad Victoria was closer!!
That is very far away.
No wonder she died.
Were the family of 5 targeted or happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time?
ReplyDeleteAlso, who are most of the dead gunmen - Zetas or CDG?
yeah ..who are the dead guys..Z o CDG
ReplyDeleteWhere is the military? State police,Anybody,to maintain order? Every SOB in Mexico has a cell phone when these firefights break out is there a Military Quick response team that can be called into action?? It may be that virtually all Law enforcment in Mexico is directed by one or the other Narco gangs but I still have a hard time believing that this degree of violence can go unchallenged WHERE WAS LAW ENFORCMENT ??
ReplyDeleteMexican Security TO LITTLE TO LATE they show up after its all over make a big show and take pictures corrupt? cowards? incompitent? Lazy?Stpido? No wonder the narcos have field days.
ReplyDeleteI AGREE! Too little too late! "The town of Padilla was sealed off Monday morning by state and federal police and units of the Mexican army." Who give a rat's ass now cause it's too damn late for the dead civilians! What a show the law enforcement or lack of make, and not a very good one at that! All the killers are far gone before the so called law enforcement show up! Damn I feel sorry for the law abiding citizens in Mexico and with no real help in site, God help them!
ReplyDeleteNow don't be so hard on the Mexican press here!
ReplyDelete'A survey of websites of all the main daily newspapers in Tamaulipas showed only one daily, El Occidental de Tampico, covering the bloodbath in Padilla. No other newspaper website covered any substantial story on organized crime in the state.'
You need to be looking in El Norte, too. It's there and it'll usually show up there unlike how many thing events also never see the light of being published in the US press as well as not showing up in the prensa tamaulipeca.
Here is a US published report, culled from El Norte coverage of last years violence (YES, note the date!) in 'Pueblo' Padilla, Tamulipas.
12 killed in Padilla, Tamauilpas shootout
Posted: 09.13.2010 at 5:07 PM
A heavily-armed shootout between two groups of armed men has left at least 12 men dead in a small town outside of Padilla, Tamaulipas.
The El Norte newspaper reported that the shootout ended around 2:30 a.m. Monday in the Ejido Las Brasiles.
El Norte reported that the armed men used grenades, assault rifles and other high-powered weapons.
The newspaper reported that the Mexican Army sealed off the area while authorities investigated the crime scene.
Padilla is located just northeast of the Tamaulipas capital of Ciudad Victoria.
It's not the first time Padilla has seen violence. At least five people were killed there last week.
Point taken Neto, I'm honestly not trying to be hard on the Mexican press, being aware
ReplyDeleteof the lethal constraints they operate under but the lack of coverage by the Tamaulipas' media is part of the larger narrative, after all.
Also, El Norte is based in Nuevo Leon (Monterrey), not Tamaulipas.
Z hung banners in Padilla denying it was them.
ReplyDelete"We disclaim cowardly acts against the people of Padilla, who were victimized by members of the Gulf Cartel, led by El Viento and El Cachetes, ....................... Atte. The Zeta Unit"
ZETAS HAN NARCO BANNERS BLAME GULFO FOR PADILLA KILLINGS...
ReplyDeleteMexico: Los Zetas Attribute Padilla Massacre To Gulf Cartel
February 15, 2011
Suspected members of Los Zetas hung three banners in Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas state, blaming the Gulf cartel for attacks in Padilla that killed 18 people, Reforma reported Feb. 15. The banners’ text claimed that the Gulf cartel took out its frustrations on civilians because it felt defeated. Eleven civilians and 7 suspected gunmen were killed in Padilla on Feb. 13.
as of now this is the mexican drug war...
ReplyDeletewell thats what it's called ..really it is a sort of civil war ...but whatever...
if we are dumb enough to get involved in this mess it will be the Mexican, American war...
then ..it will be the war of American aggression..
and they will all of a sudden quit fighting each other long enough to fight us...
and we will eventually leave ..and they will go to killing each other all over again...
as we probably have no intention of making a state out of Mexico..why waste our time
it is a shame what Mexico is doing to itself over money
if we get involved it will be our shame what we have to do to Mexico to try to stop it
@Gerado
ReplyDeleteOh yes so easy to criticize the local media when your not even on the front lines right? All you do is translate. When you go there lets see how long you survive?
I have a source in local government in Padilla, and the actual total dead count was 58, including the innocent and the guilty.
ReplyDeleteMM38