Blockades, shootouts grip Reynosa

REYNOSA — Widespread blockades and shootouts were reported across the city of Reynosa Tuesday afternoon.

Reports that several people might have died could not be confirmed.

Federal officials would not confirm anything about the attacks, which reportedly occurred in at least six locations around the city, including near the Broncos baseball stadium.

Witnesses said they heard heavy automatic and semiautomatic gunfire interspersed with explosions.

At about 2 p.m. Tuesday, Reynosa city officials sent online bulletins about “situations of risks” and blockades.

One incident apparently occurred near the Broncos Bridge along Boulevard Hidalgo, which passes by the baseball stadium and is the primary thoroughfare that cuts toward the southwest side of the city.

That road appeared virtually abandoned Tuesday afternoon and remained closed near the stadium Tuesday evening as soldiers continued to survey the area.

Witnesses reported seeing Mexican navy helicopters hovering near the stadium and a security guard injured by a grenade outside a health clinic.

Those caught up in the blockades struggled to find cover inside their vehicles or nearby stores, witnesses said.

Exactly what motivated the widespread blockades remains unknown. Mexican authorities would not disclose any details Tuesday evening, and local media in Reynosa have been under a virtual blackout as journalists continue to be kidnapped in northeast Mexico.

The violence punctuated a day that began with an explosive device detonated outside a Soriana supermarket shortly after 6 a.m. Tuesday, city officials said. There were no injuries, but some property damage was reported.

Violence has gripped Reynosa and other cities across northeast Mexico since February, when the Gulf Cartel and the Zetas dissolved ties and began fighting over smuggling routes into the United States.

The Mexican government announced Tuesday that more than 28,000 people have died in drug violence across the country since 2006.