Northeast Cartel Or Cartel Del Noreste Blocks Highways And Attacks Police Base In Nuevo León

"Char" for Borderland Beat

This article was translated and reposted from RadioFórmula. MX

Armed men burned vehicles and blocked the Nuevo Leon National Highway, at the same time they attacked a Municipal Police station in the municipality of Iturbide.

On Wednesday afternoon, a series of blockades, burning of vehicles and the presence of armed men were reported in at least three points of the National Highway of Nuevo Leon. There was also a shooting attack on a police base in the municipality of Iturbide.

According to Radio Fórmula contributor, Azucena Uresti, the obstructions were reported on the borders of Hualahuises, Linares and Montemorelos.

In addition, roadblocks have been reported at the El Chocolate and El Brasil ejidos in Linares, in the direction of Montemorelos.

"Narco-blockades reported on the national highway in the limits of Linares and Montemorelos, Nuevo Leon; there are burned vehicles and the presence of armed men."-@Azucena Uresti

Initial reports indicate that the blockades began around 4:30 p.m. after a confrontation between Fuerza Civil and an armed group in the municipality of Doctor Arroyo. Although the name of the criminal organization has not been confirmed, it is believed that the Northeast Cartel could be behind the blockades, since it is the one with presence in the state.

According to Radio Fórmula correspondent Raymundo Elizalde, the confrontation between security forces and armed civilians left two criminals dead and six detained, including an alleged leader of a criminal group.

At the same time as the blockades, armed men shot at a municipal police station in the municipality of Iturbide.

Through videos circulating on social networks it is possible to see vehicles crossed, as well as tires and cargo trucks set on fire in order to block the way.

So far there is no official information provided by the authorities; however, witnesses have indicated that the criminals robbed the drivers of their vehicles and then set them on fire, a modus operandi commonly used by organized crime.

As a result, local authorities deployed a strong security operation, headed by Fuerza Civil, agents of the Ministerial Police and elements of the Army and National Guard with the objective of controlling the situation and reestablishing normality in the area, and after the presence of the security forces there was an exchange of gunfire with armed civilians, as well as a new blockade at kilometer 27 towards Linares-Iturbide in order to prevent the security forces from passing through.

Operatives, the cause of the blockades

Gerardo Palacios Pámanes, Nuevo León's Secretary of Security, held a press conference on Wednesday night, where he detailed that there were four blockades this day, which were part of a reaction by members of the criminal group affected by a series of successful operations.

According to the official, there were a total of three confrontations in China, Los Aldamas and Doctor Arroyo, which left three criminals dead, 11 detained, one wounded, 24 exclusive-use long arms and eight pickup trucks seized.

It is worth mentioning that among those killed was the intellectual and possibly material author of the execution of the director of the municipal police of Linares, Gabriel Solano.

On the other hand, Palacios Pámanes confirmed that at the same time that Wednesday's blockades were carried out on the Nuevo León national highway, there were also two attacks on the Iturbide and Linares police stations "without achieving their goal and without any injuries".

Why has the Northeast Cartel 'set its sights' on Nuevo Leon?

The Northeast Cartel originated in Tamaulipas, but has gradually spread to other states, so that it now has a presence in eight states in the country, including Nuevo Leon.

The state of Nuevo Leon attracted the interest of the criminal organization because it is one of the main economic centers in Mexico and because it connects with the border cities of Nuevo Laredo and Reynosa, both in Tamaulipas.

This has been attractive to the Northeast Cartel for laundering illicit money from drug trafficking, migrant smuggling and other criminal businesses without arousing suspicion.

It should be noted that in recent days there have been a large number of homicides in the state, so authorities have indicated that the violence is the result of a "purge" within a criminal organization.

Mutilated human bodies with messages signed by the cartel have been found, indicating that they found members of the Sinaloa Cartel and Los Rodos, an independent criminal gang supported by Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, who tried to infiltrate to obtain information.

As a result, 100 elements of the Special Forces of the Mexican Army were sent to the state this Wednesday to carry out intelligence work to strengthen the state.

Source: RADIOFÓRMULA.MX