A group of Gulf Cartel gunmen attacked the number two state official in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas as he traveled along a highway that leads to the border city of Reynosa.
The attack took place on Monday at 4.50 a.m. along the highway that connects Reynosa with San Fernando near the rural community known as Periquitos. Hector Joel “El Calabazo” Villegas Gonzalez was traveling in an armored vehicle with his security detail.
The region where the attack occurred is experiencing extreme violence as rival factions of the Gulf Cartel have been clashing for over three months in a fierce turf war.
As the politician moved along the highway, a group of Gulf Cartel gunmen attacked them, setting off a fierce shootout. The politician’s security detail stayed behind to fight off the gunmen until backup arrived, while Villegas’s driver moved him to safety in the armored vehicle. No injuries were reported.
Despite the intensity of the almost daily shootouts along the highways in the northern part of the state, Tamaulipas officials have been extremely adamant about minimizing the violence in the region.
The politician, known by his nickname El Calabazo, was supposed to travel from Ciudad Victoria to the border to meet Adan Augusto Lopez — Mexico’s former Secretary of the Interior and current presidential candidate. The policitian was expected to be traveling to various border cities this week.
A series of photographs after the shooting revealed that the politician’s vehicle sustained numerous gunshots on the passenger’s side.
Villegas, a member of the Morena Party, is the current Tamaulipas Secretary of State. This makes him the second-highest-ranking political figure under Governor Americo Villarreal.
As Breitbart Texas has reported, since Villarreal’s arrival to power in Tamaulipas has skyrocketed while the Matamoros faction of the Gulf Cartel rapidly expanded its territories and interests throughout the state.
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 their original Spanish. This article was written by “Francisco Morales” and “J.C. Sanchez” from Tamaulipas, “L.P. Contreras” from Mexico City, and “Dhrama Fernandez” from Baja California.
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