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Ciudad Victoria, Mexico (AP) — Apparently, even the most bloodthirsty drug gangs can get tired of killing. Three of the fighting factions in the Gulf Cartel in Mexico announced on Monday that they had reached an agreement on a truce.
Police in Tamaulipas confirmed that professionally printed banners appeared on Monday in the border city of Reynosa and other cities. Cartel shooters randomly killed 15 bystanders in Reynosa across the Rio Grande from McAllen, Texas last month.
The banner photo showed that the colors of the Mexican flag, red, white and green, and slogans such as “Long live Peace!” Were printed.
State police said four people were detained on suspicion of hanging flags from buildings and elevated roads in more than half a dozen cities in Tamaulipas.
The banner was signed by three of the major factions of the Turf War 10 years ago: Metro, Scorpions, and Reds. It was unclear whether the fourth faction, Cyclone, was part of the agreement.
In contrast to the usual cartel message, which is often misspelled and accompanied by piles of body and body parts, Monday’s message uses polite and almost knowledgeable language, a picture of a pigeon with an olive branch. Had
“We agree to a ceasefire of tranquility, declare solidarity with the people, and have idealistic principles that are consistent with maintaining peace,” including the plea that “we also have a family.” Read the text of one banner.
“The fundamental thing is that we can rest assured that we have a strong presence in the community,” the banner read. “The Gulf Cartel has principles, and its top priorities are state peace and inhabitant well-being.”
The Metro is one of the larger factions of the Gulf Cartel, which is currently split, and has long dominated Reynosa.
According to the Tamaulipas Prosecutor’s Office, the June 19 killings in Reynosa were carried out by Scorpions based east of Reynosa around Matamoros and another Gulf Cartel member known as the “Cyclone.” The fact that a similar banner appeared in Matamoros suggested that Cyclone was participating in the agreement.
Prosecutors said the two groups aimed to terrorize Reynosa’s population as part of a campaign to challenge the control of the city by the metro.
The turf battle has become commonplace in Tamaulipas. There, the remnants of the Gulf Cartel and the old Zeta gang have fought turf for over a decade. Border cities are an advantageous route for smuggling drugs and immigrants.
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