Police in the Mexican border state of Tamaulipas are ignoring innocent cartel victims and not responding to the scenes of attacks. This new development allows cartel gunmen to attack innocent victims with complete impunity while government officials claim that crime is decreasing in the cartel-controlled state.
One of the most brazen examples took place late last week, when a group of gunmen attacked a couple who own a fruit stand in Ciudad Victoria. Tamaulipas State Police (State Guard) did not respond to the scene even though the attack took place in the city’s downtown area, just a few yards away from their headquarters.
For the attack, a group of four gunmen riding on two motorcycles pulled up to the husband and wife who were tending their small business and began firing. The two business owners sustained multiple injuries from the hail of gunfire. After the gunmen left, the husband dragged his wife into their pickup and tried to drive towards a local hospital. In his rush to drive, the husband struck a passing vehicle but continued on his way. Tamaulipas state police officers did not respond to the scene.
As the husband was rushing his wife to a hospital, he ran a stoplight and collided with a second vehicle. The impact sent the pickup towards a nearby house, causing it to roll over. The driver from the first impact had been following the pickup, thinking the first crash had been a hit and run, and upon seeing the severity of the injuries, he placed the couple in his car and rushed them to a local hospital. On Wednesday morning, the husband died from his injuries.
Tamaulipas state police forces did not respond to the scene of the two crashes either. The only law enforcement agency to respond to the scene was the investigators from the Tamaulipas Attorney General’s Office.
Law enforcement sources revealed to Breitbart Texas that the couple does not have a criminal history, and the attack is likely tied to their being unable to pay extortion fees levied by cartel gunmen. The same source revealed that Tamaulipas state police forces had been notified to stay indoors before the attack. The message was relayed to police by a high-ranking official who is connected to criminal organizations and is known as the link or “enlance“.
The attack comes just weeks after a similar case where a group of cartel gunmen carried out a targeted assassination in the Simon Tores neighborhood in Ciudad Victoria. Tamaulipas State Police forces also failed to respond during the attack or in the aftermath.
The MORENA party controls the Tamaulipas government, and its current governor, Americo Villarreal, has been the target of ongoing investigations on both sides of the border for his connections to various criminal organizations. As Breitbart Texas reported, Villarreal had the Gulf Cartel force people to vote for him during his election, and criminal organizations funneled money from illegal fuel operations into his campaign.
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.
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