Protests shut down border crossings from Tijuana to Matamoros

by Sergio Chapa
Posted: 22 mins ago



Uproar over tax increase for used cars blamed

An international bridge that connects Brownsville to Matamoros remains shut down following coast to coast protests on the Mexican side of the border.

Used car dealers have shut down a series of border crossings from Tijuana along the Pacific Ocean to Matamoros along the Gulf of Mexico.

Organizers set up the blockades in protest of higher taxes and stricter regulations over importing used cars from the United States.

Protestors shut down the Otay Mesa border crossing in Tijuana as well as a commercial truck crossing in Mexicali.

Another group of protestors shut down an international bridge that links Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas to Laredo, Texas.

In the Rio Grande Valley, protesters gathered on the Mexican side of Hidalgo-Reynosa International Bridge and shut down the Mexican side of the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge.

Officials said that the Pharr bridge has reopened but U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) reported that the Veterans International Bridge remains closed.

The Veterans International Bridge links Matamoros, Tamaulipas to Brownsville, Texas.

American officials are redirected traffic away from the Veterans bridge while the three other bridges linking the two border cities remain open.

Travelers between Matamoros and Brownsville are asked to use the Gateway, B&M and Los Indios International Bridges as alternatives.

http://www.valleycentral.com/news/story.aspx?id=1133299