Mexican soldiers kill alleged Northeast Cartel gunmen in Nuevo Laredo

Mexican soldiers

patrolling in the border city of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas came under fire from drug cartel gunmen Friday, then killed 12 of their attackers in a gunbattle, the military said. There were no military casualties.

The Defense Ministry (SEDENA) said three army patrol trucks were hit by gunfire, but no troops were hurt. The gunmen were believed to belong to the “Inferno Troop,", an armed branch of the Northeast Cartel , a split-off of the old Zetas cartel.

The SEDENA said one of the attackers’ burned-out pickups was left at the scene and eight assault rifles and two .50-caliber sniper rifles were also found. Nuevo Laredo, which is across the Rio Grande from Laredo, Texas, has been the scene of bloody gunfights in recent years.

On April 1, the U.S. consulate in Nuevo Laredo issued an alert citing “reports of multiple gunfights and blockades throughout the city of Nuevo Laredo. U.S. government personnel are advised to shelter in place.”

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On Jan. 4, the consulate wrote that “organized crime activity (including gun battles, murder, armed robbery, carjacking, kidnapping, forced disappearances, extortion, and sexual assault) is common” in Nuevo Laredo . “Heavily armed members of criminal groups often patrol areas in marked and unmarked vehicles and operate with impunity. Local law enforcement has limited capability to respond to crime incidents.”

Coahuila

Also on Friday, state police in the border state of Coahuila reported that officers killed five suspects after being fired on. The state government said the shootout occurred in the city of Torreón when police came under fire from a man who fled into a house, where four other occupants also began shooting.

Guanajuato

In central Mexico, meanwhile, armed men killed five state police officers and wounded two others in Guanajuato, the state where 26 recovering addicts at a drug rehabilitation center were massacred earlier in the week.

Governor Diego Sinhue Rodriguez wrote in his Twitter account: “I regret what happened to the five officers ... we will be intensifying our efforts to equip and train security personnel.”

Guanajuato has been the scene of bloody turf battles between the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and the local Santa Rosa de Lima gang. The killings have made it Mexico’s most violent state.

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Northeast Cartel

According to security expert Alejandro Hope, this cartel is led by Juan Gerardo Treviño Chávez, known as “Huevo.” His uncle, Miguel Ángel Treviño Morales, known as the "Z40,” who is the former leader of Los Zetas cartel.

Archives from the SEDENA explain that Los Zetas was created in 1997, when the Mexican and U.S. governments agreed to include military officers in the fight against drug trafficking in the border between both countries, in the state of Tamaulipas.

For this purpose, the SEDENA deployed several officials with special training to work as civilians in the Federal Judicial Police (PJF). Back then, this organization was in charge of the fight against drug trafficking but it was full of corruption.

The team was named “Zeta,” and it was led by Arturo Guzmán Decena. A few months into the operation, the soldiers betrayed the army and joined the Gulf Cartel (CDN) as the drug lord's bodyguards.

This way, drug lord Osiel Cárdenas Guillén used the group named Los Zetas as an armed branch in order to conquer locations outside Tamaulipas, such as Piedras Negras, in Coahuila.

In 2010. the former militaries left the CDG and formed their own cartel .

After Miguel Ángel Treviño Morales was arrested. His brother Omar Treviño, known as “Z42,” took over but he was arrested in March 2015. Francisco "Kiko" Treviño Chávez then took the lead.

Treviño renamed cartel as the “ Northeast Cartel ” and led the criminal organization until September 2016, when he was arrested by the DEA in Houston.

Furthermore, after internal turmoil, the Z40's took the lead but was then arrested, so now Juan Gerardo Treviño Chávez, "Huevo,” is leading the drug cartel.

Military reports indicate that the CDN mainly operates in Tamaulipas , near the U.S. border, and one of the most violent states in Mexico. It also operated in Nuevo León, where Monterrey, one of the most affluent cities, is located.

In Tamaulipas, this cartel controls Nuevo Laredo and is disputing the control of other areas with the Gulf Cartel, the Old School Zetas ( Zetas Vieja Escuela), and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).

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“Inferno Troop”

Treviño Chávez created a new armed branch formed by teenagers and youths and named it the “Inferno Troop.” They are trying to regain control of the areas the cartel used to control and have been quite active in recent months.

On November 15, they engaged in a shooting with soldiers in Nuevo Laredo, launched blockades, and torched cars. One soldier and six criminals died.

A few days ago, they left several bags containing human remains and messages for rival criminal groups.

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