The U.S. Department of State sent out a travel alert warning U.S. citizens to avoid the border city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas, following a series of blockades and attacks on police surveillance cameras. As part of the blockades, cartel gunmen stole some tractor-trailers, parked them across highways, and set them on fire.
The cartel actions began on Sunday late at night, when Mexico’s military and police forces raided a house in the Vicente Guerrero neighborhood. The target of the raid was Alexander “R-9 or Metro-9” Benavidez Flores, a local leader of the Metros faction of the Gulf Cartel.
Authorities captured Benavidez and seized a weapon that he had on his person at the time. Authorities moved him to a federal detention center, where he awaits his hearings before a judge. Due to the widespread infiltration of the Gulf Cartel within the Tamaulipas State Police, the raid was carried out primarily by Mexican federal forces, with state authorities providing perimeter support, law enforcement sources revealed to Breitbart Texas.
Soon after the raid, Gulf Cartel gunmen began to set up blockades around the city in an attempt to pressure authorities into releasing their leader. In addition to the blockades and the carjacking of vehicles, cartel gunmen also began shooting at police surveillance cameras throughout the city.
While the violence died down several hours later, tensions remain throughout the city. The man known as Metro 9 had drawn the attention of authorities in recent weeks after he had posted various banners throughout Reynosa claiming that he was going to be knocking down police surveillance cameras as payback for authorities seizing the Gulf Cartel’s own surveillance cameras.
By Monday evening, the U.S. Consulate in Matamoros issued a travel warning advising U.S. citizens and employees to avoid Reynosa. While the violence had ended by the time the warning was issued, there is the expectation of future acts of violence due to the possibility of more raids or more violent reactions by the Gulf Cartel.
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.