MONTERREY, Nuevo Leon – A team of cartel gunmen murdered a state cop and injured two others during a fierce shootout in a rural community near the Texas border.

The shootout took place this weekend near Anahuac, approximately 40 miles southwest of Laredo, Texas. According to law enforcement sources, the gunfire began after a squad with Fuerza Civil police set a roadblock along a rural highway between Anahuac and Nuevo Laredo. The area is considered one of the main corridors used by the Cartel Del Noreste (CDN) faction of Los Zetas.

Soon after the cops set the roadblock, a team of CDN gunmen riding in a maroon Dodge Ram with Texas license plates ran through the checkpoint. Officers chased the fleeing gunmen on various roads as the vehicle made its way to the town of Lampazos, approximately 20 miles away. When the vehicles arrived in the downtown area near the intersection of Antonio Villarreal and Gomez Farias Streets, the gunmen stopped and began shooting at the police.

Officer Rigoberto Bautista Del Angel was struck numerous times in his body and once in the head, dying almost instantly. Two other officers were also injured. The gunmen bailed out of the SUV and stole a gray Jeep also with Texas plates. During their escape, the gunmen lost control of the stolen vehicle and rolled over. By the time authorities caught up to the crash, the gunmen were gone. Police recovered one rifle, ammunition, and tactical clothing.

Editor’s Note: Breitbart News 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 Tony Aranda from Nuevo Leon.