Four Policemen Die in Mexican Border State Shootout with Cartel

Three police officers, a detective, and two cartel gunmen died during a fierce shootout in Nuevo Leon Monday. The gunmen used .50 caliber rifles to ambush the officers during their patrol duties.

The clash took place near the town of Salinas Victoria along the highway that connects the Monterrey Metropolitan area with the border city of Nuevo Laredo.

According to social media posts from Nuevo Leon’s Public Security Secretary Gerardo Palacios Pamanes, local officers from Salinas Victoria were patrolling when they came under fire. Various law enforcement agencies responded to the location to provide backup as the gunmen fell back to a ranch.

Al verse sorprendidos, miembros del crimen organizado dispararon contra policías de Salinas Victoria. Fuerza Civil, Policía Ministerial, municipales, GN y Ejército, que acudieron en apoyo, fueron recibidos a balazos con calibre 50. Lamentablemente hay bajas entre los policías.

— Gerardo Palacios (@GerardoPPmanes) January 2, 2023

A video of the clash captured the intensity of the shootout.

#ALMOMENTO | Se reporta que tres elementos de diversas corporaciones de la policía fueron abatidos en Salinas Victoria, #NuevoLeón, durante un enfrentamiento con civiles armados pic.twitter.com/TGxeN42r9Y

— Azucena Uresti (@azucenau) January 3, 2023

In the aftermath, Palacios reported that two gunmen and three officers died in the shootout. Authorities arrested a third gunman.

El saldo final de los operativos es de 2 delincuentes abatidos y 5 delincuentes detenidos.

— Gerardo Palacios (@GerardoPPmanes) January 3, 2023

By Tuesday afternoon, the Nuevo Leon Attorney General’s Office confirmed that one of their ministerial agents died from injuries.

The highway connecting the Monterrey metropolitan area with Nuevo Laredo and the Colombia International Bridge is used primarily by the Cartel Del Noreste faction of Los Zetas. The CDN-Los Zetas are responsible for more than 100 kidnappings and forced disappearances.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com. 

Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.