REYNOSA, Tamaulipas — President Enrique Peña Nieto canceled an upcoming local visit. The decision comes after Reynosa recently suffered days of fierce gun battles as cartel gunmen to fight for control.

Peña Nieto was scheduled to visit Reynosa in the coming days and hold a public event for the christening of a new avenue. The president postponed his trip with a new date yet to be announced, El Mañana de Reynosa reported.

This week, rival factions of the Gulf Cartel once again took to the streets in a new escalation of violence. Convoys of gunmen, blockades, and shootouts dominated the streets this week. Close to 400 individuals have been murdered since May 2017 when two rival factions began their fight for control of the city, Breitbart Texas reported.

The cancellation of Peña Nieto’s visit comes days after Enrique Rivas, the mayor of Nuevo Laredo, was forced to dive for cover as cartel gunmen got into a shootout yards away from his public event, Breitbart Texas reported. Military forces rushed the politician to safety while dozens of spectators, including women and children, were told to stay low. Soon after the event, Rivas took to social media to minimize the situation.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded the Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and Stephen K. Bannon. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.

Brandon Darby is managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded the Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and Stephen K. Bannon. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.