Raw Videos From Recent Ambush in Los Aldamas, Nuevo León, Circulate on Social Media

“MX” for Borderland Beat

Note: Images are graphic and may cause distress. Discretion is advised.

Two videos from the recent Northeast Cartel (CDN) ambush against the National Guard (GN) in Los Aldamas, Nuevo Leon, are circulating on social media. 

The attack occurred last week when one GN member and at least 15 more were wounded in a coordinated when they were patrolling Los Aldamas. 

In the first video recording presented below, two elements of the GN (a man and a woman of approximately 20 years) are seriously injured lying on the pavement on a street in Los Aldamas. Their colleagues give them words of encouragement and tell them “not fall asleep” while they give them medical attention.

In the second video presented below, several GN members are shown hiding under a vehicle to shield themselves during the ambush. One of the GN members asks for help since he says that one of his colleagues (presumably the one in the video above) is injured.

“Element injured!”, “They are shooting at us!”, “Assistance!”, the GN member yells throughout the video.

One GN member is heard saying to a colleague of his that their injured comrade is bleeding too much. “Everything is leaking out of this guy”, he said.

During the shooting, the officers requested more reinforcements from the GN and the Nuevo Leon State. It is unknown if anyone was arrested in the aftermath of the attack. The injured elements were transferred by helicopter to receive medical attention.

Two days after the ambush, CDN members shot at a military helicopter and injured the pilot while he flew over Los Aldamas. State authorities issued a statement indicating that the aircraft was giving support to the Mexican military in the area by transferring its elements.

Despite the attack, the aircraft had to continue its journey to Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, to get to safety and request medical attention to attend to the injury.

In images that circulated on social networks, various bullet holes can be observed in the front of the aircraft. The pilot’s blood stained the control panel and his seat. Upon arrival, the pilot was transferred to the hangar at the Mariano Escobedo Airport, where he received first aid. He was later transferred to a hospital in Monterrey.

Last February, the CDN tried to shoot down a military helicopter in Doctor Coss, Nuevo Leon, but were unsuccessful. During the gunfight, the military killed 5 sicarios, as reported by Borderland Beat.

Borderland Beat Analysis

Los Aldamas is located approximately 160 kilometers (100 miles) from Monterrey, the largest urban area in northern Mexico. This town is on the highway that connects Monterrey with Miguel Aleman, Tamaulipas, just across the US-Mexico border from Roma, Texas.

The shootout occurred close to La Frontera Chica (also known as La Ribereña), a border stretch in Tamaulipas. In the context of the Mexican Drug War, it is a lucrative drug corridor currently under dispute by the Metros faction of the CDG and CDN.

The CDN, based in Nuevo Laredo, is trying to expand east into La Frontera Chica, which has historically been controlled by the CDG. The CDN has tried to make incursions into La Frontera Chica from Nuevo Leon. It is likely that this shootout in Los Aldama may be a result of a CDN cell that was planning to push north into Tamaulipas.

Reports say that the CDN commanders in the area are Ricardo Chapa (‘El Ricky’) and another individual simply known as ‘El Amarillo’. These individuals report to the CDN boss Juan Gerardo Treviño Chavez (‘El Huevo’).

The CDG commanders in the area are Cesar Morfin Morfin (“El Primito”) and his brother Alvaro (“R-8″). The CDG in La Frontera Chica has the backing of the Nuevo Leon cell reportedly headed by Comandante Cubano.

Sources: El Universal; El Norte; Epocaviolenta; TH3PR3D4TH0R Mxx (Video 1); (2); Borderland Beat archives