MATAMOROS, Tamaulipas—After weeks of sitting back, Mexican military forces carried out various operations targeting cash, guns, and drugs belonging to the Gulf Cartel.

This week, Mexican soldiers performed a local raid where they seized more than 460 pounds of cocaine and $79,000 in cash. Authorities arrested three suspects and also seized scales, money counting machines, and packaging equipment. Matamoros is directly south of Brownsville, Texas, and is one of the main strongholds of the Gulf Cartel.

Also last week, Mexican authorities seized a large weapons cache and five armored vehicles belonging to the Gulf Cartel in rural Mendez, just east of the Tamaulipas state line with Nuevo Leon. During a series of patrols, authorities apparently clashed with a convoy of Gulf Cartel gunmen. While authorities have not disclosed the number of casualties, they did confirm the seizure of five armored SUVs and several weapons.

The military turned the weapons over to the attorney general’s office in Matamoros for further investigation. Mexican authorities revealed they seized two .50 caliber rifles, three grenade launchers, 13 AK-47 rifles, and six AR-15 rifles, 93 ammunition magazines, and 2,300 ammunition rounds.

The actions of the Mexican military come after weeks of playing a backseat role in targeting cartels. Both the military and Federal Police forces have been largely absent from the shootouts and raids against the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas in Tamaulipas. The inaction led the Tamaulipas governor to publicly shame them and request a meeting with Mexico’s president. The move has since led to escalating tensions between Mexico’s ruling party and the Tamaulipas government.

Editor’s Note: Breitbart Texas traveled to the Mexican States of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, and Nuevo León to recruit citizen journalists willing to risk their lives and expose the cartels silencing their communities. The writers would face certain death at the hands of the various cartels that operate in those areas including the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas if a pseudonym were not used. Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles are published in both English and in their original Spanish. This article was written by “J.A. Espinoza” from Tamaulipas.