Sunday, September 7, 2025

Thieves rob 40 drivers with roadblock on highway in Tlaxcala

Around 40 drivers were assaulted and robbed on the Arco Norte highway near Mexico City on Wednesday morning after thieves brought traffic to a standstill by placing rocks on the road.

At least 15 people with high-caliber weapons passed from one stationary vehicle to the next, taking the belongings from those inside.

An earlier collision had slowed traffic, enabling the criminals to block the road. The mass robbery took place at kilometer 215 of the highway between Texmelucan, Puebla, and Sanctórum, Tlaxcala, close to the Puebla state border.

Some drivers saw the assailants coming, but were trapped in the traffic and had to accept their fate. The thieves smashed the windows of other drivers who locked their vehicles or raised their windows.

Vehicles transporting goods were ransacked and the loot was loaded onto pickup trucks.

After the robbery, drivers arrived at a nearby toll plaza with no money to pay and reported the incident. National Guard officers arrived at the scene, but the criminals fled on foot and none was caught.

Puebla Governor Luis Miguel Barbosa said he would look to set up a commission with federal authorities and the government of neighboring Tlaxcala to avoid theft on the highway.

Robberies on the Arco Norte have occurred before. On March 15, at kilometer 205, in a strikingly similar incident, around 15 armed and hooded men robbed motorists after traffic was halted by a crash.

With reports from Proceso, Infobae and Milenio

Have something to say? Paid Subscribers get all access to make & read comments.
Workers install scaffolding in front of a giant Mexican flag

Mexico’s week in review: Bilateral tension and cooperation on display as Mexico welcomes its new judiciary

1
Other headlines included canceled Mexican Independence celebrations in the US, a new Mexican unicorn startup and a win for jaguar conservation.
train track

Maya Train gets final approval for a new freight terminal in Cancún

0
The green light from the Environment Ministry means land-clearing can begin on the new freight teminal, which will involve removing 260 hectares of jungle.

Threat of US immigration raids forces cancellation of Chicago’s Mexican Independence Day celebration

9
The Trump administration has threatened major anti-immigrant action in Chicago, the city with the third-largest Mexican and Mexican American population in the U.S.
BETA Version - Powered by Perplexity