At least one killed in Reynosa shootout; bodies found in other border towns

REYNOSA — At least one man was killed in a shootout among civilians on the city’s west side Wednesday morning — the latest in a string of fatalities reported this week.

Reynosa city officials first reported the incident about 10 a.m. Wednesday in the Casa Bella neighborhood, along Boulevard Hidalgo near a Halliburton facility.

El Universal newspaper reported on its Web site that more than 100 military units were called to the neighborhood and closed streets near the scene of the shootout.

An update posted about 1:20 p.m. said the incident had ended. Federal police continue to investigate the shooting.

Wednesday’s fatality comes after other deadly incidents reported in Tamaulipas border cities this week.

Tamaulipas state officials reported via their government Web site that a man and a woman believed to have been 25-35 years old were found dead Tuesday morning in downtown Ciudad Mier, across the border from the Starr-Zapata county line. No further information about the incident was available.

In Reynosa, state officials said civilians engaged in a battle with federal authorities Tuesday in that city’s Laguna neighborhood, near Avenida Álvaro Obregón. One woman was injured during the firefight.

On Monday, a man was found dead in the Guardados de Arriba neighborhood of Miguel Alemán, across the border from Roma. The man had been shot several times and was found in the bed of a pickup truck, state officials said.

Also on Monday, state officials reported that a man was found dead in Camargo, across the border from Rio Grande City. The man, who was about 20 years old, had several gunshot wounds and was found near an abandoned truck.

One member of the Mexican navy died Saturday during a shootout with suspected cartel members in Mier, according to an agency statement.

A group of naval officers patrolling the city encountered a group of 15 vehicles driven by suspected cartel members and engaged in a shootout that left the sailor dead. No information was given regarding possible casualties or arrests among the suspected cartel members, but the navy said vehicles, weapons and communications equipment were seized after the incident.

The wave of fatalities comes amid a rash of shootings in the past month that have left dozens dead in Mexican cities across the border from the Rio Grande Valley.

Many of the recent deadly battles in Tamaulipas and the neighboring state of Nuevo León are believed to be related to a recent split between the Zetas and the Gulf Cartel, the once-allied dominant drug trafficking gangs in the region.

Last week, the U.S. Consulate in Monterrey advised Americans to avoid driving between Reynosa or Nuevo Laredo and Monterrey after cartel checkpoints had been established and several carjackings were reported, including one involving a U.S. citizen.