VALLE HERMOSO, Tamaulipas — Cartel gunmen riding in a nine-vehicle convoy murdered an innocent bystander and injured a state cop during an ambush.

The shootout took place when authorities were patrolling the rural neighborhoods near this city. Valle Hermoso is several miles south of Matamoros.

The rural areas in northern Tamaulipas are used by cartels to move drugs and humans. In recent years, cartels used the area for fuel theft. Using large containers and tractor trailers, Pemex fuel lines were tapped and then sold on the black market.

During a patrolling operation, authorities came upon a blue Ford extended cab pickup with Texas plates that had a large container in the back. The truck was also towing a second filled with stolen fuel. A group of “huachicoleros” or fuel thieves linked to the Gulf Cartel called for backup to defend the loot.

Nine SUVs filled with cartel gunmen faced off against police officers. During the firefight, an officer was shot while an innocent bystander was mortally wounded. The victim died moments later at a hospital in Matamoros.

The convoy of cartel gunmen managed to flee after the attack. It remains unclear if any were injured or killed.

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 Tamaulipas’ “J.A. Espinoza”.