Tracy Wilkinson
L.A. Times
April 7, 2014
At least 15 people were killed in brazen shootouts over the weekend in the large coastal city of Tampico, in a border state that had been experiencing a relative lull in organized-crime-related violence.
Mayor Gustavo Torres said Monday that the gun battles began Saturday night and lasted, sporadically, until Sunday night. He said the gunmen and victims were from the Gulf cartel, a drug-trafficking network that dominates part of Tamaulipas state.
Many in Tamaulipas said they feared a return to the recent past, when the Gulf cartel, backed by members of the larger Sinaloa faction from the Pacific Coast, waged vicious, near-daily fights with the Zetas, a paramilitary force that had broken off from the Gulf cartel.
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