Two Mexican soldiers were kidnapped by a convoy of more than two dozen cartel gunmen in the Mexican state of Hidalgo after the troops stopped a tractor‑trailer hauling stolen fuel. The brazen daylight abduction left one serviceman dead and the other hospitalized.
More than two dozen cartel gunmen kidnapped two Mexican National Guardsmen (GN) who had tried to intercept a tractor-trailer moving a load of stolen fuel. The gunmen reportedly killed one of the guardsmen and released the second officer, who needed medical attention.
The incident took place this week in the state of Hidalgo, in the municipality of Huichapan. According to a report from Mexico’s Proceso, GN Agents Erik Antuan Portilla Morán and Gustavo Ramírez Roque pulled over a tractor-trailer that was carrying stolen fuel.
Moments later, a group of at least 25 gunmen in multiple SUVs intercepted them and kidnapped the two agents, leaving their two patrol vehicles at the scene. Mexican authorities deployed a large manhunt in an attempt to find the missing officers.
Approximately one hour later, they found one of the officers who was in a state of shock. Hours later, authorities found the body of Ramirez Roque. Despite attempts to locate the gunmen, authorities were unsuccessful.
The case takes place in the central part of Mexico, an area that has seen a dramatic increase in cartel activity, focusing primarily on the theft of fuel, where criminal organizations tap into pipelines belonging to Mexico’s government-owned oil company PEMEX. That oil or fuel is then sold in the underground market. As Breitbart Texas has reported, in prior cases in other parts of the country, the fuel theft networks have included top members of Mexico’s political elite and even high-ranking military officials.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart News Foundation. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s 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 News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.