A group of Tamaulipas state police officers chasing a suspect inadvertently crossed into Texas, setting off a brief standoff with U.S. authorities at an international port of entry in Brownsville.
The incident began earlier this week in Matamoros, where Tamaulipas state police forces responded to a call of a fight in the north-eastern side of the city, in the Benito Juarez neighborhood, Tamaulipas law enforcement sources revealed to Breitbart Texas. As authorities tried to arrest the suspect, he got into an older model Suburban and tried to drive away, heading north toward Brownsville.
The suspect drove through the tool booth, heading north towards the Texas side of the border. Tamaulipas Police vehicle 1573 chased the suspect and inadvertently crossed into Texas, leading to a short standoff with U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers who detained the fleeing driver and momentarily detained the officers.
According to Tamaulipas state police sources, after a short interview, U.S. authorities allowed the Mexican cops to return to the Mexican side of the bridge. A photograph provided to Breitbart Texas by Mexican authorities revealed that the cops walked back to Mexico through another port of entry.
Breitbart Texas contacted U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations. The agencies responded, “Homeland Security Investigations is aware of the current situation and is closely monitoring.”
The issue comes as the border city of Matamoros has seen a dramatic rise in cartel violence; as Breitbart Texas reported, Gulf Cartel gunmen have been carrying out various ambush-style attacks on Tamaulipas state police forces.
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.
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