Mexican Army counterambush: 1 dead

One armed suspect was killed and two others were detained when an armed group in the northern border state Tamaulipas attempted to ambush a Mexican Army road patrol Friday, according to official news accounts.

A news released published on the website of Tamaulipas said that the encounter took place at about 1600 hrs in Mier municipality.  The site of the incident was said to be near the water pumps of the  Comision Municipal de Agua Potable near a break called Las Crucitas.

The armed suspect killed at the scene was said to be in his 20s.  Two other suspects were detained at the scene as well, along with  six rifles, 1,172 rounds of ammunition, 45weapons magazines and tactical gear.

In the same report, a Mexican Army unit was dispatched to Las Torres colony in Reynosa municipality based on a citizen's complaint, where soldiers seized four rifles, 840 rounds of ammunition, 29 weapons magazines and one vehicle.

The report did not mention the date or time of the incident.

Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com and BorderlandBeat.com. He can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com

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Zetas Capture Mexican Soldiers, Cd. Mier

By: Farrah Fazal
CIUDAD MIER, MEXICO - A new Mexican troop buildup in Mier has todo with five Mexican Army soldiers captured by the Zetas.

This is according to Gary J. Hale, the former Chief of intelligence for the Drug Enforcement Agency in Houston.

He says the Zetas didn't just capture those soldiers on Monday but they also killed four more soldiers. He says the Mexican military is going into Mier tonight partly as payback.

"For the Zetas to go to the point of attacking a military unit tells you they are dead set for that territory," said Hale.

The gun battles are more fiery and deadly in the little Mexican town of Mier just feet from the U.S. border. The Zetas are fighting the Gulf Cartel and the military is fighting them both.

"Four soldiers were killed and others were taken captive," he says.

Gary Hale says he is getting that information from sources on the ground in Mier.

He spent more than three decades in the intelligence community. He now owns a think tank called Grupo Sarvant in Houston.

Hale says three reasons will make the battle for Mier even more deadly in the coming days. The area is strategic because it's the gateway to the drug highway from Monterrey.

"Monterrey is a critical juncture you can access Eagle Pass, Brownsville, Matamoros, Reynosa, McAllen. You can access all of those citires," says Hale.

The cartels know the Rio Grande near Mier is their friend. Hale says neither the Gulf Cartel or the Zetas could end up controlling Mier or area all along the border from Falcon Dam to Camargo.

"All of that territory belonged to Sinaloa. It was upsurped by a long war in Nuevo Laredo," he says. "At the end of the day when the smoke clears, the Sinaloa Cartel could dominate the territory."

Hale says the Gulf Cartel fought for the Mier area of the border from 2003 to 2007, but this year the Gulf needed Sinaloa's help to fight off the Zetas. He says we may know as early as next week if the Zetas can hold off two enemies from the territory they are determined to control.

Hale is working on a report he'll release this weekend that will show exactly how the Gulf Cartel could take back the territory that once belonged to the Sinaloa Cartel and what it would mean for the bloody war along that border right now.

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