Four cartel members dead

Sheriff: Soldiers kill cartel members

By MIGUEL TIMOSHENKOV
LAREDO MORNING TIMES
Published: Thursday, May 28, 2009 7:13 AM CDT

Mexican soldiers killed at least four cartel members during a gunbattle in Nuevo Laredo, Webb County Sheriff Martin Cuellar said Wednesday.

The Mexican Army has declined to comment on the violent confrontation, which occurred on a busy Nuevo Laredo boulevard Tuesday evening in front of the upscale Villas de Country neighborhood. Few details were made available Tuesday.

"We are organized to prevent criminals from coming into this county," Cuellar said Wednesday.

"We are concerned. We knew that a confrontation could occur between the cartels and the Army.

We stay informed on these events."

He said he is in regular contact with Mexican officials in Nuevo Laredo.

An official at Hospital General told Laredo Morning Times that two people with bullet wounds were admitted to the hospital Tuesday.

One was a soldier and the other was a civilian, the official said. Cuellar said Wednesday he had been told that one soldier was injured in the gunfight.

Troops continued guarding the hospital Wednesday, keeping a close eye on who went in and who went out of the building.

At about 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, an ambulance took a patient to Army headquarters across town under heavy military guard.

It was not known whether the patient was a soldier or a civilian.

"Yes, we provided a service, but really, we don't know to whom we gave it," said an employee of Civil Protection Department, which operates the ambulances in Nuevo Laredo.

On Tuesday night, other officials said that at least three soldiers had been injured in the battle but there was no word at the time on what had happened to those who were fighting with the soldiers.

Meanwhile, officials at the state attorney general's office in Nuevo Laredo declined to comment Wednesday on whether anyone had died as a result of the gunbattle Tuesday.

The Mexican military usually keeps a tight lid on its actions, but Tuesday night's confrontation was witnessed by numerous people who were in vehicles on Colosio Boulevard when it erupted.

Drivers said they saw several men on the ground, indicating multiple injuries.

Troops shut down all lanes of traffic in both directions after the battle ended, frustrating many.

What sparked the gunfight was not known.

Officials at the Army headquarters in Nuevo Laredo said they weren't authorized to comment on the incident and wouldn't give any information on whether anyone had been wounded or killed in the fighting.

Gen. Andrew Fullum Van Lissum, commander of the troops based in Nuevo Laredo, could not be reached, but lower-ranking officers said the operation involved special forces.

(To reach Miguel Timoshenkov, call 728-2583 or e-mail timo1@lmtonline.com)

http://www.lmtonline.com/articles/2009/ ... 811824.txt