HomeNewsBrief9 Dead After Weekend Gun Battles in Northern Mexico
BRIEF

9 Dead After Weekend Gun Battles in Northern Mexico

GULF CARTEL / 5 NOV 2012 BY EDWARD FOX EN

Gun battles reportedly between rival gangs in the border city of Reynosa over the weekend left nine dead and suggest the Zetas may be making a push to take over the key trafficking corridor and Gulf Cartel stronghold.

The fighting began early on November 3 when four men were shot dead in an SUV on the road connecting Reynosa and Monterrey, reported Informador.

Gunfire was later exchanged between gang members and Mexican soldiers throughout areas of Reynosa, leaving a further five suspected criminals dead.

Following the shootouts, gunmen set up road blocks along major streets leaving Reynosa, including the Anzalduas International Bridge connecting the outskirts of the city with Mission, Texas. Authorities denied any disruption had been caused to the border crossing, reported Notimex.

InSight Crime Analysis

The Gulf Cartel are the main group operating in Reynosa, retaining control of vital drug trafficking corridors moving north into the US. However, the group has been severely weakened in recent years, with in-fighting taking place between rival factions seeking to gain a grip of the drug trade running through Reynosa. The capture of the group’s leader Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sanchez, alias “El Coss,” in September raised the spectre of more turmoil in the gang as there was no immediate successor to take his place.

Another possibility is that the recent fighting was due to the rivalry between the Gulf Cartel and their former armed wing, the Zetas, who may be trying to make an incursion into Gulf territory.

Perhaps the more interesting aspect of this incident is the first round of killings. It is less common for cartels to engage in open gun battle as is said to have happened early on Saturday morning, that to send messages through grand displays such as mass body dumps. This was most evident in May when 49 bodies were discovered on a highway connecting Monterrey and Reynosa. The attack was attributed to the Zetas.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

EXTRADITION / 8 AUG 2022

A US request has led Guatemala to dismantle a prolific human smuggling ring that smuggled migrants to the United States.

HUMAN TRAFFICKING / 15 JUL 2022

A recent report has shed new light on how temporary work visa programs for migrant laborers can backfire.

COCAINE / 18 AUG 2023

The sentencing of notorious Colombian drug trafficker Chupeta marks the end of a lucrative and bloody career.

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Contributes Expertise Across the Board 

22 SEP 2023

This week InSight Crime investigators Sara García and María Fernanda Ramírez led a discussion of the challenges posed by Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s “Total Peace” plan within urban contexts. The…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Cited in New Colombia Drug Policy Plan

15 SEP 2023

InSight Crime’s work on emerging coca cultivation in Honduras, Guatemala, and Venezuela was cited in the Colombian government’s…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Discusses Honduran Women's Prison Investigation

8 SEP 2023

Investigators Victoria Dittmar and María Fernanda Ramírez discussed InSight Crime’s recent investigation of a massacre in Honduras’ only women’s prison in a Twitter Spaces event on…

THE ORGANIZATION

Human Trafficking Investigation Published in Leading Mexican Newspaper

1 SEP 2023

Leading Mexican media outlet El Universal featured our most recent investigation, “The Geography of Human Trafficking on the US-Mexico Border,” on the front page of its August 30…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Coverage of Ecuador Leads International Debate

25 AUG 2023

This week, Jeremy McDermott, co-director of InSight Crime, was interviewed by La Sexta, a Spanish television channel, about the situation of extreme violence and insecurity in Ecuador…