Authorities in Mexico are trying to hide the kidnapping of 31 passengers from a bus at the hands of the Gulf Cartel. The kidnapping victims are believed to be migrants who were headed to the border city of Matamoros — the bus’s ultimate destination.
The kidnapping took place on Saturday night when bus #9570 from the Senda company was traveling from Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, to Matamoros, Tamaulipas.
When the bus passed the city of Nuevo Progreso, Tamaulipas, a group of gunmen in five vehicles blocked off the bus and forced the driver and 36 passengers to get out of the vehicle.
The gunmen questioned the passengers to determine which passengers were migrants who were trying to reach the border and kidnapped them. The missing passengers included men, women, and children from Venezuela, Colombia, Honduras, and Mexico.
The Gulf Cartel allowed the remaining five passengers to continue their journey to Matamoros.
The bus was traveling along the highway that connects Reynosa and Matamoros when the carjacking took place. That highway has been the scene of much violence in recent months as two rival factions of the Gulf Cartel continue to wage a fierce turf war.
In the aftermath, the Tamaulipas government confirmed that a bus had been stopped and passengers had been forced off. Officials did not specify that 31 migrants had been taken — a strategy that has become common as officials continuously try to deny or minimize the cartel violence in the region.
As Breitbart Texas reported, the Matamoros faction of the Gulf Cartel funneled campaign money and support during the previous election season and has greatly benefited under the current Tamaulipas government.
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.
“J.A. Espinoza” and “Francisco Morales” from Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project contributed to this report.
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