Mexican Marines kill 8 in Valle Hermoso, Mayor admits to fear and Powerlessness

Marines battled for more than five hours with members of the Gulf cartel in the municipality of Valle Hermoso, Tamaulipas, resulting in one wounded marine and eight gunmen dead.

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The Mexican Navy announced the death of eight gunmen after a lengthy firefight early Tuesday morning. One Mexican marine was injured during the fighting; he was listed as out of danger. According to a news release from the Mexican navy, the fighting began when authorities received an anonymous tip of a convoy of SUVs carrying gunmen.

When naval officials sent a convoy of Mexican marines to investigate, they reported coming under fire when they arrived at the city. The Mexican marines fought back and reported fighting off the group, which went into a brushy area and fled.

During a follow-up search of the area, marines found the bodies of eight gunmen as well as five SUVs. From inside the vehicles, the marines seized eight AK-47, four AR-15, a grenade launcher, four 40 mm grenades, 2073 ammunition cartridges of various calibers, 55 magazines of various calibers, and two pairs of camouflage.

Also seized from the vehicles were 3 plastic bags containing marijuana and diverse apocryphal MARINE vehicle decals, similar to those used by the marines to identify themselves during operations.

Although the press release didn’t state which criminal gang the gunmen belonged to, sources indicate the gunmen were members of the Gulf Cartel.

Following the attack, in a telephone interview with Joaquin Lopez Doriga, the mayor of Valle Hermoso, Efraín de León León admitted his fear while declaring his powerlessness over the violence that has taken hold his city.

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Grillonautas

Sources: Milenio, Grupo Reforma, SEMAR, You Tube, Valley Central, Es Noticia