A large group of cartel gunmen stopped a bus filled with police officers and administrators in southern Mexico. The gunmen loaded them into a cargo truck and escaped with complete impunity.
The incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon in Chiapas, a state in southern Mexico bordering Guatemala. A cell phone video taken by passing motorists captured the moment when a convoy of vehicles carrying gunmen stopped the bus where at least 40 police employees were riding.
#Inseguridad en #Chiapas dan levantón a 23 trabajadores de la secretaría de seguridad en ocozocoautla …#ULTIMAHORA #UltimoMinuto #UltimoMomento pic.twitter.com/ivLy6I0AlK
— Silvia Jimenez (@SilviaJ55716589) June 28, 2023
According to information released by state authorities in Chiapas, the kidnapping victims were all employees of the state Citizen’s Security and Protection Secretariat — a government term for state police. Authorities have not released the identities and positions of the employees. Currently, at least 14 employees have been reported as kidnapped.
Through various prepared statements, government officials claimed to be carrying out multiple operations and are working to resolve the issue.
As Breitbart Texas has reported, the state of Chiapas has seen a dramatic rise in violence as gunmen from Cartel Jalisco New Generation have been clashing with factions and local groups tied to the Sinaloa Cartel as they fight for control of drug trafficking routes, drug production areas and control of human smuggling corridors. Despite many claims by politicians of having ended impunity for the cartels and improving security conditions, Mexico’s government has been unable to stop the violence in the region.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.