Grenade attack at the Matamoros PGR offices
A torched SUV and no injuries are the result of a grenade attack at the offices of Mexico’s Attorney General in Matamoros, the PGR, officials said.
The attack took place early Sunday morning at the PGR offices on Sixth Street a few blocks from the B&M Bridge, said a Mexican law enforcement official whose name can’t be released for security reasons.
According to the source, someone in a moving vehicle threw at least one device with the characteristics of a concussion grenade at the building. The explosion didn’t injure anyone in the building or the Mexican soldiers who regularly keep night guard there. The explosion did destroy one SUV that was parked outside.
On Friday afternoon, unknown assailants threw another grenade at the Gran Hotel Residencial in Matamoros, an upscale hotel where federal law enforcement officials are known to stay.
One week ago, two grenades where thrown at the Televisa station on the south side of Matamoros.
Matamoros has also seen several firefights between the Gulf Cartel, the Zeta criminal organization and the Mexican military. The sporadic shootouts have taken place near El Niño Avenue, the Plaza Fiesta shopping center, and Lauro Villar Avenue.
According to a source with firsthand knowledge of criminal activity in the border area, grenades are a popular way for criminal elements to send a message to authorities or to a rival organization. The practice is known as "heating the plaza." By attacking high-profile targets in a rival’s turf, they attract attention from federal authorities, thus hampering dealings for their rivals, he said.
According to the source, Matamoros is a stronghold of the Gulf Cartel, which has been in a violent struggle with its former allies the Zeta criminal organization; the source said members of the Zetas are doing the plaza heating.
