Los Zetas Cartel Throws Grenades Inside Border Nightclub

NUEVO LAREDO, Tamaulipas — Gunmen with the Los Zetas cartel threw two grenades inside a nightclub in an apparent effort to kill one of their rivals; they failed. The grenade attack follows along the escalating violence that has spread to the border cities as two factions of the Los Zetas cartel fight for control.

The grenade attack took place on Sunday late night at an establishment called “Bar 400”. The bar, located near the intersection of Tamaulipas and Vicente Guerrero streets, is believed to be run by one of the cartel factions called Cartel Del Noreste (CDN).

During the attack, rival cartel gunmen threw two grenades inside the establishment in an effort to murder a top cartel hitman named “Huevo (egg) or El 35”. The man is believed to be the personal bodyguard for Kiko Treviño, the regional commander of the CDN and close relative of the Trevino Morales brothers Miguel and Omar. The Treviño Morales brothers, known as “El 40 and El 42”  have distinguished themselves for their ruthlessness; both are currently in a Mexican prison. The two had achieved control of the faction that became the CDN, the day to day operations of the group are now controlled by Kiko Treviño.

As Breitbart Texas has been reporting for more than eight months, the CDN has been at war with the rival faction known as Vieja Escuela Z. That group is made up of old Zeta commanders that are not loyal to the Treviño faction. Since the war began, the fighting has resulted in daily kidnappings, shooting, drive by shootouts, beheadings, dismemberment and other gory executions.

As the two factions continue their fierce fighting, gunmen from the two groups have resorted to social media to deliver threats to each other. The short poorly written messages are often filled with insults and vulgar language. As part of the threats, the Vieja Escuela faction has ordered that the relatives of the CDN leadership leave Ciudad Victoria or face a sure death.

On July 2, the unknown gunmen pulled up to a house in the Libertad neighborhood for a man who had been shot. A group of gunmen in an SUV shot at the victim and fled. Emergency personnel treated the unidentified man and rushed him to a local hospital where he later died. Later that day members of the Vieja Escuela hung a banner issuing further threats to the relatives of the CDN. The banner also threatens a Nuevo Laredo attorney that acts as a messenger by delivering information between jailed members and those of the outside.

Editor’s Note: Breitbart Texas traveled to the Mexican States of Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon and Coahuila to recruit citizen journalists willing to risk their lives and expose the cartels silencing their communities.  The writers would face certain death at the hands of the various cartels that operate in those areas including the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas if a pseudonym were not used. Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles are published in both English and in their original Spanish. This article was written by “M.A. Navarro” from Ciudad Victoria.