The Mexican Army in eastern Sonora discovered three trucks equipped with homemade armor plating — including a cloned state police vehicle. Troops also found an ammunition cache off a rural road in Sahuaripa.

Elements of the Mexican Army 4th Military Zone discovered what appears to be a cartel encampment on July 31, near rural Sahuaripa. The bust followed a short pursuit of several vehicles. Upon entering the camp, they discovered three armored trucks equipped with ballistic windshields and windows. Two featured gun turrets. Security personnel also seized a fourth truck without any modifications, according to local reports. An ammunition cache was also discovered consisting of more than 2,300 .50 caliber rifle rounds, another 440 various caliber rounds, seven extra magazines, and several pounds of marijuana, according to General Cruz Isaac Muñoz Navarro, commander of the 4th Army Military Zone and local media reports. The troops were assisted by elements of the Sonora State police and Federal Ministerial Police.

According to Breitbart Texas law enforcement sources, military patrols in the area have been stepped up due to recent cartel violence in the mountain communities. Investigators are currently working a series of cartel-related killings in rural Güisamopa and others near the state line with Chihuahua. The murders are related to a turf war along trafficking routes splitting the Sonora/Chihuahua line.

Robert Arce is a retired Phoenix Police detective with extensive experience working Mexican organized crime and street gangs. Arce has worked in the Balkans, Iraq, Haiti, and recently completed a three-year assignment in Monterrey, Mexico, working out of the Consulate for the United States Department of State, International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Program, where he was the Regional Program Manager for Northeast Mexico (Coahuila, Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Durango, San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas.) You can follow him on Twitter. He can be reached at robertrarce@gmail.com.