MONTERREY, Mexico (Reuters) – Rival gunmen blocked roads near the US border and strung up threatening banners yesterday after marines killed one of Mexico’s top kingpins, and Washington reaffirmed its support for the country’s drug war.
Gunmen used buses and trucks to block roads in Reynosa, a Gulf cartel stronghold across the border from McAllen, Texas, and west of Matamoros, where marines on Friday shot dead gang leader Ezequiel “Tony Tormenta” Cardenas.
In an apparent riposte from rivals, gunmen from the Zetas gang hung messages between trees and over bridges in Reynosa and in cities across northeastern Tamaulipas state, mocking Cardenas’ death. “Once again, the Gulf traitors’ destiny is evident … there‘s no place for them, not even in hell,” read one banner that was signed by the Zetas.
Fighting broke out between gunmen and soldiers in Reynosa, and two assailants died yesterday, newspaper El Norte said.
US President Barack Obama rang Mexican leader Felipe Calderon yesterday “to reaffirm United States support for Mexico’s efforts to end the impunity of organized criminal groups,” the White House said in a statement.
More than 31,000 people have been killed across Mexico since December 2006, when Calderon took office and launched his cartel crackdown. The government is under increasing pressure to contain the burgeoning death toll.
