The top prosecutor in a Mexican border state formally classified a 2019 cartel attack by a faction of Los Zetas as a terrorist act and is charging those involved accordingly. The move is historic since no one in Coahuila in at least 20 years had been charged with terrorism, officials explained on Thursday.
Coahuila Attorney General Gerardo Marquez Guevara made the announcement on Thursday during a news conference in Saltillo. Marquez said that 10 cartel members who had already received 85-year prison sentences for crimes related to the November 2019 attack on the town of Villa Union are currently under a second investigation with 40 others for terrorism.
“At least since I can remember, there has not been an event of this nature in the last 15 or 20 years,” Marquez Guevara said.
Terrorism is listed under Article 472 of the Coahuila Penal Code and carries a sentence of 6 to 20 years. The law punishes the use of explosives, arson, or firearms against the public, property, or public services with the intent of pressuring the government to take a certain “determination.”
The attack on Villa Union took place in November 2019, when at least 120 gunmen from the Cartel Del Noreste faction of Los Zetas rolled into the town and began shooting up buildings and terrorizing locals. The gunmen rode in more than 25 SUVs, some armored.
Soon after, state police with the help of surrounding municipal departments rushed into Villa Union to fight the gunmen. Mexican military forces also attended, but police did the brunt of the gunfighting. After almost three hours, authorities were able to succeed with 17 gunmen killed, four fallen police officers, and two firefighters shot to death.
In the aftermath, Coahuila Governor Miguel Angel Riquelme claimed that the gunmen were trying to spread terror among locals. Since then, the CDN-Los Zetas have carried out numerous attacks and ambushes on Coahuila state police.
Editor’s Note: Breitbart Texas traveled to Mexico City and the 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 “J.M. Martinez” and “C.E Herrera” from Coahuila.
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