1 Dead, 16 Wounded in Nuevo Laredo Grenade Attack

A grenade attack was reported late Monday night in Nuevo Laredo at the Benito Juarez sports complex located on the east side of the river, near the Parque Viveros and the Rio Grande.

The incident occurred around 11pm when unknown assailants threw a grenade that detonated in the spectator’s section of a football field within the sports complex.

Some witnesses to the attack also reported a burst of gunfire directed at the football field.

Municipal police and a military unit responded to the attack but arrived too late to confront the attackers. As of Tuesday evening no official information on the attack as been released by city, state or federal authorities.

Mexican media reports stated that 5 people were wounded in the attack and
1 child died from shrapnel wounds at a local hospital.

However, the Laredo Morning Times, the Laredo Texas newspaper, reported Tuesday that Nuevo Laredo officials who wished to remain anonymous confirmed 1 death and 16 victims wounded.

Pools of blood and a child’s sandals were all that remained at the site Tuesday morning. A retaining wall at the site was marked by shrapnel impacts.

The motive for the attack remains unknown to the public at large. The attack could have been directed at one or several targeted individuals or may have been a terrorist attack on innocent civilians.

Details from Friday’s armed clashes between the military and gunmen in the streets of Nuevo Laredo continue to emerge. Although impossible to verify, rumors continue to persist among the inhabitants that the civilian death toll was much higher than the official death toll of 2 civilians announced by the authorities.

The official death toll is listed as 2 civilians in addition to 9 criminals and 1 soldier.

Witnesses continue to state that up to a dozen bodies of civilians littered the streets, mostly shot and killed by brutal, indiscriminate gunfire aimed at civilians by the criminals, thought to be Zetas, as they terrorized the streets of the city during the fighting.

This hysteria, manifested by widespread rumors, is understandable in light of the fact that the population is under a near total, surreal news blackout by the local media.

The Nuevo Laredo daily newspapers such as El Diario and El Manana amazingly refuse to cover any news story that is related to the actions of drug cartels. The grenade attack listed above was also ignored by both newspapers.

One incident that was confirmed by the Laredo Morning News was an unprovoked attack on a city bus full of innocent civilians by criminal gunmen. Three children are still in serious condition in local hospitals from this attack and a female passenger has been paralyzed from the waist down.

Rumors that there were several deaths among the passengers were not mentioned by the Laredo, Tx newspaper. However the following photographs show at least one dead victim aboard a city bus.

More photos ("Read More") of the aftermath of the "narco-terrorist" attacks on the streets of Nuevo Laredo-Friday July 16

Graphic content, discretion is strongly advised