Friends and loved ones of a murdered woman blocked the entrance to an international port of entry in the border city of Matamoros, Tamaulipas, for over 18 hours to pressure government officials into solving the case.
On Monday morning, close to 100 people parked vehicles across the Los Tomates/Veterans International Bridge entrance, protesting that the murder of 23-year-old university student Leslie Alejandra Cortes Torres had gone unsolved.
The protest caused a considerable traffic jam as the port of entry sees thousands of vehicle crossings daily, primarily from tractor-trailers moving commercial goods. Monday afternoon, more than 50 state police officers arrived at the port of entry and threatened to arrest everyone if the group did not disperse. Despite the threats, the activists continued their protest until early Tuesday morning when state police forces told them the protesters could face federal charges since they were blocking the entrance to a port of entry. The group disbanded after having closed the port of entry for 18 hours.
Relatives reported Cortes Torres missing on May 11, 2023, when she went to see her then-boyfriend Jesus Baltazar Hernandez. She never returned. The woman was reportedly pregnant with Baltazar’s child at the time of her murder.
After several days of protests by outraged community members, authorities searched and found the victim’s body in a clandestine gravesite. Since then, no arrests have been made.
According to Cortes Torres’ mother, Mayra Nelly Torres, Baltazar Hernandez is the main suspect. Still, authorities have not arrested him even after he showed up for questioning with several scratches on his face. The grieving mother told Breitbart Texas that authorities have not been working on the case and that there has been no progress after four months. She said that Baltazar Hernandez does not have any arrest warrants, and he has gone into hiding.
Editor’s Note: Breitbart Texas traveled to Mexico City and the states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, and Nuevo León to recruit citizen journalists willing to risk their lives and expose the cartels silencing their communities. The writers would face certain death at the hands of the various cartels that operate in those areas including the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas if a pseudonym were not used. Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles are published in both English and their original Spanish. This article was written by “Francisco Morales” and “J.A. Espinoza” from Tamaulipas.