Six members of the Northeast Cartel’s military wing, known as Hell’s Army, died in confrontations with security forces in the border city of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, on Thursday.
According to official reports, the fighting left one soldier dead and three wounded.
State security spokesman Luis Felipe Rodríguez said there were three separate incidents.
“Armed civilians assaulted security forces in three situations that took place in Nuevo Laredo as a result of the patrols carried out by military personnel to inhibit the actions of criminal groups,” Rodríguez said.
Initial reports said the attacks began when cartel hitmen opened fire on soldiers and stopped an army vehicle with traffic spikes to puncture its tires.
The attacks were initially believed to have been related to the transfer of 75 inmates from the local prison, but authorities rejected the claim and said the inmates were transported without incident.
Images of the clash recalled the confrontations in August that left as many as 12 gangsters dead near the Nuevo Laredo airport and outside an army barracks.
Among the dead in August was 16-year-old Juanito Pistola, a minor who had been recruited by Hell’s Army cartel at a young age. According to social media reports, Pistola had been arrested in 2015, but was later released as he was only 13 at the time.
Riding in one of the attacking vehicles, Pistola was decapitated by gunfire during the fighting. Following his death, a video on social media showed him carrying weapons, drinking alcohol and flipping off the camera. Background music was an original narco rap ballad dedicated to him.
Thursday’s actions came on the heels of attacks on security forces in Nuevo Laredo, one of which left a state police officer wounded.
Source: Vanguardia MX (sp)
