Free Republic

MEXICO CITY (AP) — More than 25,000 Mexican workers at dozens of factories south of Brownsville, Texas, went on strike Friday after owners of the plants that assemble for export refused union demands for a 20 percent pay hike and an annual bonus. The Union of Maquiladora Industry Industrial Workers of Matamoros, the SJOIIM, said that by late Saturday nine companies had agreed to meet the salary and bonus demands. Union leader Juan Villafuerte thanked union members who had stood outside in the rain and cold, noting "we hope to soon conclude this labor ." The government of Tamaulipas state...

MATAMOROS, Tamaulipas — The failed strategy by the Mexican government has created a new issue in this border city where organized crime has tried to diminish common crime in an effort to lower public attention. Drug cartels appear to be succeeding in lowering common crime, something that the State of Tamaulipas has failed in. “They cut my fingers off for being a thief,” the tattoo on the forehead of a suspected criminal explained. Information obtained by this outlet points to the victim being connected to a series of burglaries in the city. His kidnapping and torture appear to be a...

A Tamaulipas state official says a Televisa station in the border city of Matamoros suffered a grenade attack that injured two guards, one seriously. […] The attack came after a week of violence in the city across from Brownsville, Texas. Enrique Juarez Torres, editor of El Manana in Matamoros, was kidnapped and released on Wednesday, a warning he said from the Gulf Cartel for reporting on gunfights that killed nine people. Fifteen people reportedly have died since last weekend in cartel violence. …

Mexican authorities are looking into the deaths of three US citizens who were shot dead on a visit to see their father. The investigation is focused on a specialist security unit known as "Hercules", made up of former marines and soldiers who police hot zones for crime. Nine of 40 Hercules officers, working in the violent border city of Matamoros, are being questioned over the deaths of four people, including the three US siblings. According to a witness, brothers Alex Rivera, 22, and Jose Angel, 21, arrived at their father's house to find security personnel hitting their sister Erica, 26....

BROWNSVILLE - Matamoros residents are worried that more violence may spark after the destruction of Santa Muerte altars throughout the city. The residents said Matamoros' new mayor ordered the demolitions, but there is no official word from authorities to back up those claims. "They've taken down too many altars of the Santísima Muerte," Matamoros resident Daniel Hernandez said. The Catholic Church does not recognize the folk saint. It is commonly revered by those involved in criminal activities. "Taking them down is a bad idea on the mayor's part. Everyone has their own religion," Hernandez said. Still, Hernandez supports the change....

The city of Matamoros is under a virtual state of siege following two days of shootouts blockades and panic related to yet another ongoing struggle within the Gulf Cartel. The shootouts began early Sunday morning and spread throughout the day leaving at least 13 gunmen dead, which state officials confirmed, however that figure appears to be relatively low because of the intensity of the shootouts. On Monday afternoon, Mayor Leticia Salazar issued a statement warning the public to stay indoors because of the expected outburst of violence. “At this point based on the information provided by federal authorities we are...

MEXICO CITY - Thirteen people were killed in shootouts on Sunday around the northeastern Mexican city of Matamoros in one of the worst recent outbreaks of violence in an area ravaged by drug gangs. Three gunfights took place around the city opposite Brownsville, Texas, two of which were exchanges between gunmen and Mexico's armed forces, according to a statement from the state government of Tamaulipas. Eight men died in the fighting with Mexican Marines after four men and one woman were killed in an earlier clash between unidentified armed groups, the state government said.

While Spanish Muslims are busy trying to Islamize Spain, Spanish politicians are busy removing all references to Christianity from public discourse…The requirement which will be enshrined in Spain's legal code law, represents an unprecedented encroachment of Islamic Sharia law within Spanish jurisprudence. Spanish police have arrested a Muslim immigrant in Mallorca after he claimed to have been sent by Allah to "kill all the Spanish." The arrest follows a series of other Islam-related incidents in recent weeks and months which reflect the mounting challenge that radical Islam is posing to Spain. In the latest incident, police on the Mediterranean island...

Mexican officials have condemned Saturday’s shooting of a Mexican citizen by a U.S. Border Patrol agent near Veterans International Bridge in Brownsville. The Mexican Foreign Relations Ministry has questioned the way the U.S. government handles security along the Southwest border. “The Mexican government has said once again that the disproportionate use of force for purposes of immigration enforcement is unacceptable under any circumstances,” the Foreign Ministry said. Juan Pablo Perez Santillán, 30, died Saturday morning on the banks of the Rio Grande, reportedly from a bullet fired by a U.S. Border Patrol agent on the Brownsville side of the river....

Mexican officials are condemning the shooting of a young Mexican citizen by a U.S. Border Patrol agent Saturday near Veteran International Bridge in Brownsville. The Mexican Foreign Relations Ministry has questioned the way the U.S. government handles security along the U.S.-Mexico border. The agency states the shooting happened Saturday near the Veterans International Bridge in Brownsville. It also reports the Mexican Consulate in Brownsville is assisting the young man’s family in having the incident investigated. Two Border Patrol agents, in separate incidents, fired off their service weapons in self defense Saturday morning after coming under attack, authorities said. One agent...

The day started as quietly as it could on a Saturday at the U.S.-Mexico border. For Maria Ortega, a quiet weekend meant a quick trip to the Walmart along Cavazos Lerma Boulevard for ingredients for her barbacoa de lenguadish that she cooks on the eve of the Sunday morning meal. On the morning of June 2, Ortega couldn’t make the trip to Walmart. The area had been cordoned off by the Mexican military, which was removing a grenade that had been thrown — but not detonated — at the nearby Televisa studios. According to a Tamaulipas law enforcement official who...

American officials are issuing an alert following the arrest in the United States of the brother of a high-ranking member of the Zetas drug cartel. According to the New York Times, federal officials arrested Jose Treviño-Morales on Tuesday morning as part of a money laundering investigation. The newspaper reported that Treviño-Morales is accused of using champion race horse ranches in New Mexico and Oklahoma to launder millions of dollars in drug money for the Zetas. The New York Times reported that Treviño-Morales is the brother of Miguel Angel Treviño-Morales, a high-ranking Zetas leader known as Z-40. The U.S. Embassy in...

The Matamoros office of the National Chamber of Commerce of Mexico has issued, for the second time, an advisory for travel to South Texas, particularly Brownsville. “It is because of the violent event that happened this past Sunday at Sunrise Mall, where a shooting took place, as well as many other events of extreme violence taking place in the (Rio Grande) Valley,” the statement from the chamber said. It said it was issuing the alert for businessmen and Mexican nationals and stated that people “should take maximum precaution and avoid as much as possible being out late at night.” Roberto...

WESLACO - Another high-ranking Gulf Cartel boss is in custody in the Valley. Border Patrol agents arrested Jose Luis Zuniga Hernandez along with two other suspected members of the Gulf Cartel. The group was apprehended as they tried wading across the river south of Santa Maria Tuesday. Hernandez, who is also known as “Commandante Wicho," is the alleged Plaza boss in Matamoros. He’s believed to have taken over after the shooting death of Ezequiel Cárdenas Guillén, who was also known as “Tony Tormenta.”

As the Gulf Cartel’s internal struggle continues, the residents of Reynosa, Matamoros and Valle Hermoso have been subjected to various firefights. In one of those firefights, the plaza boss of Valle Hermoso — a man known as Comandante Guerra — reportedly was gunned down. The firefights between the Gulf Cartel’s warring factions — the Rojos and the Metros — began Tuesday evening and continued into late Wednesday morning, said a source outside law enforcement familiar with the situation. The first clash was reported in Valle Hermoso, some 18 miles south of Brownsville, where Comandante Guerra was gunned down. About 8...

At least 20 inmates are dead and another 12 are wounded following an early Saturday morning prison brawl south of the border in Matamoros. Tamaulipas officials confirmed it all took place at the CEDES prison in Matamoros early Saturday morning. State police confirmed at a large-scale brawl took place between inmates. Both state and federal police arrived at the scene but when the fighting ended at least 20 inmates were dead and another 12 were wounded. Authorities have not released names of the dead or wounded but Tamaulipas officials have set up a station to attend to the families of...

BROWNSVILLE - There's another warning for Americans. This time it’s for those who work or do business in Matamoros. The U.S. Consulate warns people not go to Matamoros if you don't have to. The caution comes the day after another street battle in that city in which two people were injured. We met a man we'll call "Max" near the B&M International Bridge. He'd just come back from Matamoros. Fear kept him from showing his face. "We saw some of the streets were blocked with semi-trucks. We saw a lot of soldiers moving around in the streets, two helicopters flying...

Life has come to a standstill in Matamoros after a series of shootouts and blockades left residents trapped inside stores and buildings. It all started in the Colonia Puerto Rico in the city's southwest side shortly after 2 p.m. Saturday. Residents reported gunfire and city officials quickly confirmed a "situation of danger" in the area. The embattled neighborhood is adjacent to the Plaza Sendero Mall, a busy shopping center. Officials confirmed blockades on the Sendero Nacional Highway and Avenida Rigo Tovar, both on the city's westside. But residents reported being trapped in numerous blockades in other areas of the city....

McALLEN—Church officials and the community of Matamoros were in shock after a well-known Catholic priest was killed in crossfire during a Saturday afternoon shootout between armed gunmen and the Mexican military. Sources outside of law enforcement said the shootout began when members of the Zetas tried to enter Matamoros. Father Marco Antonio Duran Romero died at approximately 3:40 p.m. at a local hospital from a gunshot injury, according to a statement by Father Alan G. Camargo, a spokesman for the Matamoros Dioceses. The Matamoros Dioceses issued a statement late Saturday expressing their deep pain at the loss of father Duran....

Gunmen killed, 17 kidnapping victims rescued A series of deadly shootouts and blockades brought life to a standstill south of the border in Matamoros on Friday. Residents reported a series of shootouts and blockades throughout different parts of the city. Mexico's Ministry of National Defense (SEDENA) confirmed one gun battle with armed men in the Colonia Pedro Moreno on the city's southside. SEDENA officials reported that soldiers came under fire in the neighborhood where two gunmen were killed during the battle. Soldiers patrolling the area heard cries for help from a group of alleged kidnapping victims inside a nearby building....