The U.S. Consulate in Matamoros is on high alert after the murder of a Mexican federal officer who was assigned to the building’s security detail. While Mexico’s government is trying to downplay the murder as a traffic incident, U.S. consular officials are actively investigating to determine if there is a direct threat to any U.S. personnel, as the incident appears to have been a targeted attack.
The murder happened Sunday morning, when an SUV struck a Mexican police patrol that was assigned to the federal protection unit. The vehicle then sped off, and the federal unit chased them. A second vehicle intercepted them, spraying gunfire, killing one officer and injuring the second one.
Breitbart News Foundation / Cartel Chronicles
Mexico’s federal government tried to publicly downplay the shooting, claiming it was the result of a traffic accident and announced the arrest of two suspects.
The attack set off alarms within U.S. officials at the consulate who dispatched members of the security service to investigate the case. Top-level officials met with Mexican security forces at the crime scene in Matamoros as they worked to figure out details on the attack and to determine if an attack on the consulate could be in the works.
Breitbart News Foundation / Cartel Chronicles
Breitbart Texas obtained an internal memo from Mexico’s federal authorities detailing the attack and urging federal and state authorities to increase their awareness. One of the main concerns in Mexico points to an escalation in hostilities by the Gulf Cartel. Authorities in Mexico are also looking into the victims of the attack to determine if there were any links between them and organized crime as a motive for the attack.
The shooting comes at a time when tensions between Mexico and the U.S. have been rising as the Trump administration has been pressuring the administration of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to eradicate drug cartels. As Mexico continued to drag its feet, late last month, the U.S. Department of Justice criminally indicted the governor of Sinaloa and 9 of his closest allies on drug conspiracy and weapons charges for allegedly working for the Sinaloa Cartel. The move sparked even more tension, since all the politicians came from Sheinbaum’s MORENA Party. Rather than assist with arrests and extraditions, Sheinbaum claimed there was no evidence of any wrongdoing on the 10 fugitives. Since then, Sheinbaum placed Sinaloa’s Governor Ruben Rocha Moya under heavy guard.
The move appears to have backfired on Sheinbaum, as three of the wanted individuals turned themselves in to U.S. authorities, Breitbart Texas reported.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart News Foundation. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s 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 News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.