Thread: Reynosa's streets turn into battlefield

Reynosa's streets turn into battlefield
By LYNN BREZOSKY Chronicle News Service
Feb. 18, 2009, 9:15PM
REYNOSA, Mexico — Officials said Wednesday that six men were killed the day before in running battles between security forces and suspected drug-gang gunmen in residential neighborhoods of the city.


Pedro Sosa, a chief of the Tamaulipas state police, said one of the dead was a civilian named Jose Alejandro Rivera, who apparently was caught in a crossfire. Sosa said seven gunmen were detained but did not have further details.

On Tuesday, reports of injuries and deaths varied widely, with some reporters on the scene saying that as many as 12 people were killed, including five soldiers. The Mexican Defense Department later denied that any soldier had been killed.

The firefights occurred in six different sections of the city across the Rio Grande from McAllen, and were attributed to Gulf Cartel struggles to maintain control of a key cocaine trafficking route into South Texas.

The violence began when police stopped a vehicle at a checkpoint in an upscale neighborhood of Reynosa, witnesses said. That set off running gunbattles through the streets, with gangsters commandeering vehicles to block intersections.

Witnesses said the fighting raged for more than an hour Tuesday morning. Civilians ran for cover and children crouched under desks.

“We were hearing the gunfire,â€

With our wide open borders and idiots as Reid and Pelosi stating they will tear down the existing fence this will soon be in a neighborhood near you if it isn't already...........