Members of Tamaulipas State Police set up intelligence chief

Proceso (5-7-2014) 

Translated by un vato for Borderland Beat

CIUDAD VICTORIA, Tamps. (proceso.com.mx).- The Mexican Army detained at least 10 members of the Policia Estatal Acreditable (Trustworthy State Police) on charges that they “set up” the Tamaulipas Chief of Intelligence, Salvador de Haro Munoz, so that he would be murdered by “Los Zetas” gunmen,  an official source informed Proceso.

The group of State Police officers  was captured by Army soldiers hours after Salvador Haro Munoz was murdered in the streets of the Colonia Altavista, added a military spokesman, who asked not to be identified.

Haro Munoz, chief of the intelligence group that was tracking leaders of “Los Zetas” in the capital of  Tamaulipas, went on Monday afternoon to the steep, twisting streets in the popular Altavista neihborhood to investigate an anonymous tip about the presence of a (criminal) boss in the area.

He was accompanied by a group of State Police officers who led him to the intersection of 42nd and Ocampo Streets, where 20 “Zeta” gunmen with assault rifles were waiting on the roofs of the houses.

The source explained that the first shots caused the death of Salvador de Haro Munoz, while his bodyguards responded to the attack and at least ten members of the State Police fled from the scene, which was recorded by the security cameras on one of the main streets that lead to Colonia Altavista.

The first gunfire exchanges caused the arrival of Marine and Army soldiers to the area, who confronted the gunmen for almost an hour. The gunmen kept the military at bay during that time.

The intense shootout was recorded by neighbors, who posted audios and videos on the web page “Valor por Tamaulipas”, recordings that show that this was not just another one of the daily confrontations that take place in Ciudad Victoria.

At the end of the fight, the military managed to kill four gunmen that had taken shelter in a home and captured five more, among them two women, while the rest of the gunmen managed to escape.

Hours after the confrontation, the military captured the police officers who had fled from the scene, and in some cases, they found envelopes on them with money that the organized crime group had paid them to “set up” Haro Munoz, the military spokesman said.

The Intelligence Department led by 55 year-old Haro Munoz had distinguished itself during the past few months by being the main instrument in combating the “Los Zetas” leaders that control the Ciudad Victoria plaza.