A shooting in the border city of Nuevo Laredo on Wednesday left a Mexican soldier and seven suspected cartel members dead, officials said.
Tamaulipas police said servicemen in the area were shot at, with one dead and seven other soldiers wounded.
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Seven of the attackers were also killed in the firefight.
The firefight occurred just three miles south of the US border and is just the latest in a string of violent incidents in the area. Last month, the US consulate issued warnings for Americans to take shelter due to the prolonged level of danger.
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A Google Earth image shows the Port of Entry of Laredo at the World Trade Bridge between South Texas and Mexico.
(Google Earth)
Officials released the notice Nov. 28 stating that “the Consulate has received reports of multiple firefights throughout the city of Nuevo Laredo following a shutdown operation.”
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said the previous shootings occurred in response to the arrest of a cartel leader. The city has long been dominated by the Northeast Cartel, an offshoot of the old Zetas gang.
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The AFI, Mexico’s law enforcement equivalent of the FBI, on patrol in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico on August 1, 2005.
(Janet Schwartz/MCT/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Many cartels in Mexico react to the arrests of prominent figures by wreaking havoc, both to avoid the suspects’ detention or transfer, and to pressure the authorities to release them. López Obrador said the suspect had already been taken to Mexico City.
