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By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com
A total of seven armed suspects were killed in a gunfight with a Mexican Army road patrol in Ciudad Victoria in Tamaulipas state Monday evening, according to Mexican news accounts.
In a news item posted on the website of Vanguardia news daily, the gun battle took place near the intersection of calles 16th and Olivia Ramirez, where gunfire between armed suspects travelling aboard four vehicles an an army unit took place at around 1730 hrs.
The dead were all males between the ages of 25 and 35. A number of weapons were seized in the aftermath, as well as the four vehicles.
Tamaulipas is very much in the midst of violent Mexican gang turmoil, as the Los Zetas criminal gang has been undergoing a split. The criminal group has also been under considerable pressure since last spring from the Sinaloa cartel, now aligned with the Gulf Cartel, in its very front yard in Nuevo Laredo in Tamaulipas.
Last month leaders with Los Caballeros Templariosdrug cartel also declared war on Los Zetas in western Mexico.
In a related development, Animal Politico reported on its website Tuesday afternoon that a number of roadblocks have been put up by criminal gangs in the border city of Reynosa in Tamaulipas.
Among the roads affected include Bulevar Morelos , Avenida Colosio, the Puente de la Muerte and Calle Rodhe. Policia Federal units are said to be involved in road clearing operations.
Criminal gangs hijack heavy vehicles such as buses and tractor trailer rigs, then disable the vehicles to use them to block roads. The tactic is meant to slow reaction times and block intervention by local security forces, and sometimes are used to punish the local population for a sharp reverse at the hands of Mexican security forces.
Chris Covert writes Mexico Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com