Shots fired at U.S. consulate in Nuevo Laredo after drug lord is arrested

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Gunfire hit a U.S. consulate and Mexican military installations in the Mexican border city of Nuevo Laredo overnight, and trailers were set ablaze on roads downtown after a gang leader’s arrest, authorities said on Monday.

Shots against the consulate and the military premises were reported amid gunfighting and pursuits in parts of the city that lies opposite Laredo, Texas, the ministry of public security in the state of Tamaulipas said in a statement.

Suspected gang members paralyzed traffic in Nuevo Laredo early on Monday morning by blocking roads with spike strips and setting fire to trailer trucks, the statement said.

The U.S. consulate advised its employees to stay indoors and urged U.S. citizens to do the same or avoid the area.

A senior Tamaulipas official told Reuters there was at least one “collateral” fatality due to the violence.

The gunfight came after the arrest of a high-ranking cartel member, Juan Gerardo Trevino or “El Huevo,” a government source who spoke on condition of anonymity told Reuters. The local security ministry also referred to the arrest of a gang leader.

Trevino, who was arrested on Sunday, was wanted on charges of extortion and criminal association, the source said.

Nuevo Laredo Mayor Carmen Lilia Canturosas said early on Monday that some roads in the city were still impassable.

Monday appointments at the consulate and the visa processing center were also canceled, the U.S. consulate said.

Source: El Universal

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