Earlier this week, Mexican soldiers rescued a kidnapping victim following an intense shootout with alleged cartel gunmen in the city of Nuevo Laredo, which sits just across the border from Laredo, Texas.
According to the Cartel Chronicles of Breitbart News, “The shootout took place last week when a convoy of Mexican soldiers patrolling the city spotted Cartel Del Noreste-Los Zetas gunmen in the Anahuac neighborhood.” Six cartel members were killed during the melee.
Military sources told Breitbart that the six gunmen were riding in a Ford F-150; five of the gunmen wore vests with the CDN-Los Zetas logo.
Mexican authorities found a seventh man, 34-year old Pedro Gomez Vasquez, tied up on the floor of the Ford vehicle. Gomez Vasquez sustained injuries and was subsequently sent to the hospital for treatment. According to authorities, Gomez Vasquez was allegedly kidnapped as he left his workplace close to International Bridge Two.
The CDN faction of the Los-Zetas cartel has been very active in northern Mexico. Cartel Chronicles reported that “CDN-Los Zetas have sparked a wave of terror within Nuevo Laredo and are linked to kidnappings and forced disappearances.” CDN-Los Zetas members have allegedly kidnapped American citizens and Texas residents with virtually no pushback.
Los Zetas used to be one of the most powerful cartels in Mexico. Its presence was widespread throughout Mexico and as far south as Guatemala, with its principal strongholds spanning Nuevo Laredo to Monterrey.
However, as the investigative journalist site Insight Crime observed, Los Zetas began to fragment in power since 2012. CDN is just one of the splinter groups that have emerged after Los Zetas’ overall breakdown.
Nevertheless, CDN remains dangerous and has even caught the attention of Texas lawmakers.
In March 2019, Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) introduced a bill requesting the Secretary of State to classify CDN, as well as the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and the Gulf Cartel, as foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs).
Earlier in 2021, Roy introduced a similar bill to designate Mexican cartels and other transnational criminal entities as FTOs under federal law.
