Thread: More Violence Right Across the Border in Mexico!!!

3 dead, 10 injured in shootout on Mexico side of border

"MEXICO CITY -- A shootout between Mexican authorities and suspected criminals just across the border from Texas left three people dead and 10 injured, officials said.

Gunfire broke out around noon Monday when Mexican federal agents chased a van full of people carrying assault weapons in the town of Rio Bravo, across the border from Donna, Texas, according to a joint statement from Mexico's federal Attorney General's office, Defense Department and Public Safety Department.

The army and federal police sent reinforcements after the suspects took shelter in a building, the statement said.

Three suspected criminals were killed, and five soldiers and five federal police officers were injured in the shootout. Ten people were arrested, and police seized guns, grenades and bulletproof vests.

Some of the bodies were still lying in the street hours after the incident, Mexican media reported.

Tamaulipas state, which is home to Rio Bravo, is the base for the Gulf cartel and has been plagued by drug violence."

http://www.kristv.com/global/story.asp?s=7591224

Firefight in downtown Rio Bravo kills three, injures 10

Sean Gaffney
January 7, 2008 - 3:28PM

"RIO BRAVO — Mercedes Velez cried as she recounted hiding in her barbecue chicken stand while suspected drug cartel members exchanged gunfire with the Mexican military Monday.

By the firefight’s end, three cartel members were dead, according to officials. And five federal police officers and five soldiers were injured.

The street battle erupted after 11 a.m. Monday near the Municipal Police Station in downtown Rio Bravo.

Velez was preparing food at the time. She fell as she ran for cover and several grenades and a gas tank exploded.

Nothing like this has ever happened here, she said.

The gun battle lasted 20 minutes near the corner of Colegia Militar and Libertad streets.

By Monday night, Mexican officials released the names of 10 suspects arrested, including three U.S. citizens: Esteban Valdez de los Santos of Texas and Ricardo Zamora Lopez and Jose Raul Gonzalez Sanchez, both of Detroit.

Authorities also seized 40 weapons and related equipment, including AK-47s and AR-15s. And three vehicles were seized — a white 2005 Chevy Suburban, blue 2001 GMC Yukon and 1995 maroon Dodge Neon.

Witnesses — who asked their names not be used because they feared retaliation from the gunmen not arrested — say suspected cartel members stormed homes for refuge and soldiers staked positions on street corners.

There were three other minor incidents of gunfire throughout the city Monday morning, said Municipal Police Chief Adan Nava Correa said. It was his first day on the job. Late afternoon, more than 10 cars were riddled with bullet holes and spent shell casings and glass lay in the streets. At one street corner the concrete sidewalk was stained with blood.

Gunmen kicked through a wooden door in one house, seeking shelter and a shooting position, according to witnesses. In the living room stood a vase with fresh flowers pierced with a bullet hole.

Witnesses said at least two Mexican soldiers and one federal police officer were injured. One soldier was transported to a hospital in Reynosa to treat his injuries.

Conflicting reports of the death toll abounded and witnesses of the actual gun battle were scarce.

Local police pulled residents from the streets at the outbreak of the violence and hid them in the station. The local police were not involved in the exchange of fire, Correa said.

This is the second violent incident in less than two months in Rio Bravo.

On Nov. 30, 2007, gunmen killed former mayor Juan Antonio Guajardo Anzalduá and five others in a shooting outside a downtown restaurant. There have been no arrests in connection with his death.

Following that shooting, Mexican President Felipe Calderon sent troops to help settle the city.

Monday afternoon the troop presence was bolstered with hundreds of soldiers, some in armored vehicles, patrolling the streets of Rio Bravo, Correa said. Many wore masks to cover their faces.

After the incident, on Highway Two, hundreds of cars heading eastbound were stopped, waiting to go through inspections at a makeshift police checkpoint.

Throughout Mexico, violent crime is rampant despite Calderon's much-touted drug offensive during his first year in office.

On Friday, Mexican Attorney General Eduardo Medina Mora told Mexican media that drug and organized crime related killings rose to 2,500 in 2007, up from 2,350 in 2006."

http://www.themonitor.com/news/police_7 ... cipal.html

Yes. And then they just bring their violent way of life to the United States.

I wish they would just have mass riots in Mexico. I wish the criminal element would turn on the government of Mexico. I wish they would just cancel each other out.[/u]

Moving from General Discussion to News.

RIO BRAVO is located southeast of McAllen, Texas