Gun battle leaves seven State police wounded in Miguel Aleman, Tamaulipas

Translated by Otis B Fly-Wheel for Borderland Beat from a Milenio article with extra data from Valor por Tamaulipas

Subject Matter: Police vs sicarios shootout in Tamaulipas
Recommendation: No prior subject matter knowledge required

The events occurred in the town of Miguel Aleman, where subjects that were travelling in a van attacked two patrols of the Tamaulipas force, the aggressors fled.

Reporter: Milenio Digital

Location:Miguel Aleman

An armed group attacked State police of the Tamaulipas force in the town of Miguel Aleman, it left a toll of seven injured police, including one lady officer, and a patrol car burnt out.

The events occurred approximately around 13:00 on Boulevard Miguel Aleman, when the officers were carrying out a reconnaissance patrol in two police vehicles.

At this point, the occupants of a white Chevrolet van drove past the police patrol and opened fire on them, as well as throwing Tyre puncturing spikes, informed the Tamaulipas group for Coordination.

During the attack, the criminals shot the fuel tank of patrol 032, that caused the vehicle to catch fire, which led to five of the officers being burnt, including the lady officer.

Two other officers travelling in the other police patrol vehicle were injured by gunfire, all the injured officers were transferred to a hospital.

During the confrontation the police did not manage to detain anyone, the criminals managed to escape the Los Guerra and Arcabuz common land, and were not located.

After the confrontation, elements of Sedena arrived to support, manning the perimeter and carried on the search for the armed men.

Because of the events, the Mayor Ramiro Cortez Barrera asked citizens to avoid the area of risk that were reported on social media.

Valor por Tamaulipas has a different take on events.

They report that the above events were the official version of what happened, according to witnesses on social media, they reported a chase from this scene and gunfire that extended up to the town of Camargo.

Around 14:00 military that were pursuing a convoy of four vans shot and killed four of the aggressors at a peaje stop before the crossroads to Camargo.

In this shootout two soldiers were injured and were supported by elements of the Marines, who took them to hospital in a helicopter.

Miguel Aleman is the epicentre of what is known as the frontier Chica, that integrates the towns of Guerrero, Mier, Camargo and Diaz Ordaz. There exists in this area multiple breaches that are utilized by criminal organizations for the trafficking of drugs and persons, and is known as "La cuna del narcotrafico", "the cradle of narco trafficking" in English.

Original article in Spanish at Milenio