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By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com
A Mexican Policia Federal (PF) road patrol unit stopped a truck convoy carrying what appeared to be several Sand Cat armored vehicles near Ciudad Victoria Tamaulipas, according to Mexican news accounts.
It is unclear in current accounts how many trucks were carrying how many vehicles, but photos taken at the scene show at least four vehicles.
The convoy was apparently moving south along the Matamoros to Ciudad Victoria highway when the PF unit stopped them. The security protocol initiated at the scene also drew a number of other security forces units including Mexican Army units.
Spanish language reports do not say if anyone was detained, but do indicate the convoy was prevented from moving further.
Since late March the Mexican federal government, including Policia Federal have imposed a total news blackout in observance of the federal presidential election. The Mexican Secretaria de Seguridad Publica (SSP), the controlling agency for the Policia Federal does not release information, and only responds to press enquiries about specific incidents.
The Sand Cat is in use by both the Mexican Army and PF units, especially in Tamaulipas state where a number of army and PF units were moved starting last January. The vehicle was originally designed by an Israeli defense firm, but is now marketed by Oshkosh Defense Corporation in several variants. The vehicle itself is based on the Ford F550 truck chassis. Variants include a vehicle being marketed as a replacement for the MRAP armored vehicles, developed during the Iraqi and Afghanistan wars.
The Sand Cats aboard the tractor trailer rigs were painted blue, not green or navy blue used by most Mexican security forces road patrol units.
Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com