Federal authorities are investigating threats by the Northeast Cartel to stop gas station owners in Tamaulipas from selling fuel to security forces.

Stations in Nuevo Laredo began refusing service on Monday to state police and the military, the newspaper Excélsior reported. The state approached other suppliers, but they refused for fear of retaliation.

The Attorney General’s Office confirmed that officers with the state Security Secretariat have had problems buying fuel in the border city.

Interior Secretary Olga Sánchez Cordero said Tamaulipas Governor Francisco García Cabeza de Vaca assured her that efforts are underway to discover who is threatening the gas stations.

Security Secretary Alfonso Durazo said the federal government will not allow the situation to continue.

“It is a challenge to authority that we will of course not accept. All of the state, federal and military forces will of course be supplied. We are working against these criminal organizations that feel they hold dominance and the ability to launch a challenge of this magnitude,” he said.

President López Obrador also addressed the situation in his Wednesday morning conference.

“We cannot allow these threats to be accepted, this must be resolved. We’re already looking into ways of dealing with it,” he said.

Sources: El Universal (sp), Excélsior (sp), SDP Noticias (sp)