Mexican border state hides news of raging cartel violence

Government officials in Mexico have attempted to paint a picture of peace in the border state of Tamaulipas by using falsified crime statistics and making misleading statements to news organizations. In reality, several drug cartels are waging fierce turf wars in the state. Violence has increased exponentially in recent weeks as drug cartels have become more brazen.

The information gap created by the Tamaulipas government, the high risks of reporting on drug cartels, and pressure from government officials have forced mainstream news organizations to underreport the growing crime waves. In recent weeks, locals have once again turned to social media pages as their only source of information on high-impact crimes such as kidnappings, extortions, carjackings, and cartel shootouts.

(Source: Breitbart Texas / Cartel Chronicles)

This month, cities like Reynosa, Rio Bravo, San Fernando and Abasolo, all in Tamaulipas, have seen high levels of violence. Convoys of gunmen in armored vehicles have become commonplace, while state and federal authorities are often nowhere to be seen.

(Source: Breitbart Texas / Cartel Chronicles)

In an effort to further minimize the appearance of violence, the Tamaulipas government routinely posts on social media highlighting days without murders or other serious crimes. These claims don’t hold up when compared to the regular shootings and other violent incidents that occur throughout the state.

️ | #VoceríaInformation

No murderous murders or culposos recorded in #Tamaulipas in the last 24 hours. photo.twitter.com/hZJlyIo1N5

— Vocería de Seguridad Tamaulipas (@VoceriaSegTamps) August 26, 2024

As Breitbart Texas reported, the Tamaulipas government went so far as to ignore travel warnings from the U.S. Consulate in Matamoros, which warned of kidnappings and ransoms in which gunmen snatched American citizens and residents and demanded thousands of dollars for their release. Tamaulipas government officials claimed the travel warnings were unreliable because they were not based on their statistics, but on simple rumors.

(Source: Breitbart Texas / Cartel Chronicles)

This week, gunmen set fire to two trailers carrying clothing as they drove through San Fernando after the owners of the merchandise failed to pay protection fees. In other parts of the state, drug cartels have attempted to collect taxes on every vehicle sold by private individuals, threatening, kidnapping and even killing those who don’t pay.

Threat left by the Cartel Del Noreste faction of Los Zetas, which warned that those who did not pay the cartel tax on car sales would suffer a similar fate (Source: Breitbart Texas/Cartel Chronicles)

Government officials withheld information about the case and similar cases in an attempt to make it look like a traffic accident.

Editor’s Note: Breitbart Texas traveled to Mexico City and the states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila and Nuevo León to recruit citizen journalists willing to risk their lives to expose the cartels silencing their communities. The writers would have faced certain death at the hands of the various cartels operating in those areas, including the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas, if they did not use pseudonyms. Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles are published in both English and their original version SpanishThis article was written by “JA Espinoza” from Tamaulipas.