



Translated by Valor for Borderland Beat





Federal police forces belonging to the Federal Forces Division were attacked Wednesday by an armed convoy in the municipality of Río Bravo, resulting in a bloody battle that left seven armed men dead. 





This new wave of violence raised the death toll to 33 during the last three weeks in Ciudad Victoria, Río Bravo and Valle Hermoso, accounting for shootouts against troops and executions arising from the drug war that drug gangs carry out. 





The epicenter of the fighting occurred Wednesday at approximately 16:00 hours in the public land Raúl Muñiz (Plan del Alazán), south of the town of Santa Apolonia, when federal police were carrying out ground reconnaissance and detected four vehicles manned by armed civilians, signaling them to stop. 





The Tamaulipas Coordination Group (GCT) confirmed that crew members of three vehicles managed to escape, while the ones from the fourth vehicle began to attack the federal police, “who in defense of their lives, repelled the attack and shot dead seven of the suspects who until now, remain unidentified.” 





The federal police reported no casualties or injuries on their side.  There weren’t any arrests from the criminal group. 





At the scene, according to the GCT report, a truck was secured that was manned by the now deceased, as well as four rifles with their respective magazines, cartridges, and other items that were made available to the federal public ministry. 

By Air and Land





After the confrontation, air and ground support moved in. 





A resident of the area confirmed to El Mañana that a convoy of 25 police vehicles with military troops and state police on board concentrated on the area located within the boundaries of Reynosa and Río Bravo. 





In Reynosa, sources from the attorney general’s office had previously confirmed that seven subjects had been killed, but because of the responsibility of the jurisdiction, it corresponds to the neighboring municipality staff; it needs to attest to the facts and the recovery of the bodies. 





Witnesses reported the presence of dozens of military and federal police in the main street of the public land and even reported that two helicopters had descended to an adjacent area of the plaza. 





The Background





In the most recent incident in Río Bravo, on June 26, a persecution of navy forces and three vehicles with armed men left two men dead and one wounded. 





The events were derived from an anonymous tip warning that in the gap #111, there was a vehicle that was selling stolen hydrocarbons from a pipeline owned by Pemex.