By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com
As many as 60 individuals have been killed in the Mexican northern border state of Tamaulipas since last Friday, according to Mexican news reports.
Officially as of Sunday evening, the death toll solely in shootings and shootouts climbed to 10, including a confrontation between a Mexican Army road patrol and a convoy of armed suspects in Miguel Aleman, and a series of shootings and shootouts in the southern Tamaulipas municipalities of Madero and Tampico, bringing to death toll to 10 total.
According to an unsigned report in Amigos de Tamaulipas2 in mforos.com, the actual death toll as of Sunday was 18. The posting said that Monday afternoon a number of gunfire exchanges had taken place, specifically in Tampico and Madero, but no deaths or wounded have been reported so far.
A news release posted on Tamaulipas' government website said that three individuals were found shot to death Monday, including one man found at around 0039 hrs in Pueblo colony and two more found in Echeverria colony. All the victims were men in their 20s. Both of these finds were made before 0900 hrs.
A second report posted Monday night on the website of Tamaulipas state said that a second gunfight took palce between a Mexican Army unit and armed suspects in Miguel Aleman municipality which ended with three armed suspects dead.
According to the news release, the gunfight took palce near a gap called Las Crucitas near the Rio Grande river Sunday night at 1935 hrs. Only one of the three were identified, Raymundo Mares Rivera. All three men who died in the encounter were in their 20s.
Soldiers seized a number of contraband including three AK-47 rifles, one AR-15 rifle, one grenade, 31 weapons magazines for AK-47, 15 weapons magazines for AR-15, two bulletproof vests and a Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck.
According to a report posted on the website of Tamaulipas state, four men were detained in Zona Centro of Tampico by a Mexican Army unit, and a number of weapons and munitions were seized Monday afternoon.
Among the contraband seized was seven rifles, one 12 gauge shotgun, one grenade launcher, three sub machine guns, two hand grenades, two rifle grenades (probably 40mm), one rifle scope, 80 metal stars, six weapons magazines, personal quantities of marijuana and cocaine, two vehicles, tactical gear and MEX $6,674.00 (USD $513.48).
An uncredited dispatch posted Monday afternoon on the website of El Diario de Coahuila news daily said the number of shooting deaths in the past 30 hours in Tamaulipas state could be as high as 60.
Tampico recently received a new Gulf Cartel plaza jefe, a criminal underboss whose territory is the municipality of Tampico, and could be a possible reason why intergang firefights have spiked in the state. Tamaulipas is a primary route for the shipment of drugs, weapons and munitions, shooters, and migrants north.
A news report posted on the website of Dia a Dia Tamaulipas news daily said that Twitter users were still reporting gunfire in Tampico as of 1830 hrs CDT. This writer saw Twitter reports as late as 2100 hrs CDT. An official associated with schools in Tampico reported public school attendance down to between 40 and 50 percent.
According to a late news report posted on the website of Milenio news daily, despite rumors to the contrary, public schools will convene normally Tuesday.
According to Informador, three universities in the area have suspended classes. The schools include Universidad Autonoma de Tamaulipas (UAT), Facultad de Comercio y Administracion de Tampico (FCAT) and Universidad del Noreste (UNE).
Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com and BorderlandBeat.com. He can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com