Military to the Rescue, But They Forgot the Rest

Comales, Tamaulipas - Well the people kept telling the government that the city of Camargo and Comales was being held hostage by the Zetas and later the Gulf cartel. Nobody seem to listen, even the politicians kept saying everything was under control. Well that was not true, someone needs to investigate some of these politicians, as they seem to be on the side of the cartels. They seem to be living in denial, and are more interested about the next election, instead of protecting their constituents.

In fact the whole town was not only infested with narcos from the Zetas but eventually also the Gulf cartel who arrived to use Comales and Camargo as a battle field. Finally with the help of internet social networks and blogs, such as Bordeland Beat, someone with some common sense decided to bring in some military reinforcement. I say some because even the military underestimated the valid claims of the people.

The people knew the narcos were still in the area and hiding out. So the military rolled in, but they just did not bring enough troops, because they needed a bigger presence as the Zetas had made the Comales region the center of their operations. In fact one of their main leaders was directing operations against the Gulf cartel right in the middle of the heart of Tamaulipas; Camargo.

It did not take long for the military to bump in to the Zetas and the outcome was not pretty. The military fell in the lair of the Zetas and rubbed shoulders with their ruler, or at least for a brief moment.

Miguel Angel Treviño Morales, aka the "Z-40", and second in command of the criminal organization the Zetas, escaped in a confrontation with the military at the Rancho Los Martinez, in the village the Comales.

Treviño Morales was present at the ranch when the confrontation happened against the soldiers of the Seventh Military Zone, however, he managed to flee in the middle of the battle between about 200 sicarios against 40 soldiers.

Treviño Morales is second in command within the organization of the Zetas and is only below to Heriberto Lazcano or "Z-3," "El Verdugo," "El Lazca," or "Licenciado" leader of the criminal organization.

"At the ranch the military faced more than 200 gunmen in a group of about 45 trucks led by Miguel Angel Trevino, alias the "Z-40" and who is considered second only to Heriberto Lazcano," a military source confirmed.

"Given the inferior number of military in comparison to the criminal group, Treviño managed to escape protected by several of his bodyguards," said the offical military source.

Duh!

It had all started on Tuesday when the military, all 40 of them, were conducting roadblocks in the town of Doctor Coss, Nuevo León. During the checkpoint the military detected a convoy of six narco type SUV's driving away. You all know the kind right? If not, you need to get busy reading more about cartels here at Borderland Beat.

The military started a pursuit of the SUV's that culminated at the Rancho Los Martinez in the village of Comales where they were greeted by gunfire from the ever popular grenade launchers. I am sure when the narcos pulled out the bazookas out of their armored SUV's, the soldiers were saying, "damn, we should have brought ours."

The death toll of the confrontation was two gunmen and two soldiers killed along with three other soldiers wounded. I have to give credit where is due because the military casualty rate could have been a lot higher. The military was outnumbered, in personnel and equipment, and I bet you one hundred dollars, they were also out trained.

The fallen soldiers were captured on the spot by the scarios and later executed. Their bodies were found later last Wednesday on the state road 161 of the Monterrey-Reynosa Highway, in General Bravo. A sad reminder that these confrontations with the drug cartels are serious and brutal. No room for mistakes.

After the confrontation the military began a search of the area where they found a training camp and warehouse used as headquarters of operations belonging to the Zetas. Holy shit, good thing the sicarios were tipped off by some official authority, otherwise it would have been carnage all over again.

Inside the warehouse they found armored vehicles, communication equipment, an arsenal of weapons and the bodies of two executed men, allegedly members of the Gulf Cartel, who the Zetas are fighting for control over the territory in that area. If I was in charge, I would hand out shovels to the soldiers and start digging for more bodies. Just saying!

In the place they located a total of 19 trucks of different makes such as BMW and GMC Yukon and several of them were marked with the letter Z. Reportedly all stolen, but I can assure you they were not stolen from the people of Comales, because they can't afford vehicles as these.

A black Suburban had "Z-40" written on it, which is the code for Treviño Morales. These guys are known to leave their mark on everything, their cars, banners and even dead bodies. I am sure the soldiers could not wait long enough to get the hell out of there.

A military report indicated that two military bases formed part of the convoy of four trucks with 40 elements of the military that chased the sicarios to the ranch where the confrontation ensued. Hope somebody had their pen out and was taking notes.

"They were met with heavy artillery and were outnumbered. The soldiers showed great courage to face them, unfortunately, the leader of the sicarios managed to escaped," said one military commander.

You think?

Categories: gulf cartel, los zetas, military, tamaulipas