GRAPHIC — Four Cartel Gunmen Killed in Mexican Border City Battle

NUEVO LAREDO, Tamaulipas – Four gunmen with a faction of Los Zetas Cartel died during a fierce battle with Mexican soldiers. The shootout comes days after cartel shooters brought the border city to a halt using blockades and makeshift road spikes.

The shootout took place this week near the intersection of Paseo Colon and Reforma Avenues when a convoy of Mexican soldiers came across a squad of cartel gunmen riding in a gray Chevrolet Tahoe, information provided by Tamaulipas law enforcement officials revealed. The gunmen began firing at the soldiers to cover their escape, setting off a rolling battle along the Old Nuevo Laredo Highway.

The shootout ended near the intersection of the highway with Paseo Loma Real, where the four gunmen died. The Mexican Army did not sustain any casualties. The gunmen were part of the Cartel Del Noreste (CDN) faction of Los Zetas. They wore body armor, tactical clothing, and brandished AK-47 rifles.

The shootout occurred just days after CDN gunmen hijacked buses and tractor-trailers to park them across the city’s main avenues. The blockades managed to bring most of Nuevo Laredo to a standstill until state law enforcement forces cleared them.

Nuevo Laredo is the bastion of the CDN, a cartel currently led by Hector Raul “El Tory” Luna Luna–the same man behind the 2008 grenade attack on the U.S. Consulate in Monterrey. He is responsible for a recent rash of beheadings and dismemberments intended to spread terror among rivals.

Editor’s Note: Breitbart News traveled to the Mexican States of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, and Nuevo León 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 “A.C. Del Angel” from Tamaulipas.