CIUDAD VICTORIA, Tamaulipas — Kidnappings and carjackings continue to take place along the highways that traverse the border state of Tamaulipas. This is particularly true along highways that lead to the Mexican border with Texas.

Recently, Mexican army troops rescued six kidnapping victims. The victims had been taken in separate events along the state’s highways by a team of gunmen. The hostage-takers demanded $10,000 USD per victim for their safe return.

During the rescue, the Mexican soldiers engaged with the gunmen in a firefight. The battle left one of the kidnappers injures as others managed to escape.

Ciudad Victoria, the state capital of Tamaulipas, is located 190 miles from the Mexican border with Texas. The city is one of the regions that has seen a high rate of violence in recent years.

According to information obtained by Breitbart Texas, Mexican soldiers arrested the wounded gunman. The soldiers arrested a second gunman also, but neither revealed which cartel they belonged to. Soldiers carried out the rescue in the Ejido Conrado Castillo in the municipality of Padilla. The community is located near Ciudad Victoria.

The soldiers found the stash house hidden in the bushes that were being used by the kidnappers while they were patrolling the area. When the gunmen spotted the military, they began to shoot in an attempt to create a distraction in order to flee. After the gun battle, the military seized several firearms and trucks vehicles left behind by the gunmen.

During the shootout, the Mexican soldiers injured one of the gunmen. They also arrested a woman they identified as the caretaker of the house who also guarded the six kidnapping victims. The rest of the gunmen managed to escape during the shootout. The kidnapping victims came from the states of Coahuila and Veracruz, as well as a Central American man from Honduras.

The wounded suspect was identified as 22-year-old Carlos Alberto Torres Olivares, from the rural community of El Moquetito in the municipality of Matamoros. The second suspect was identified as a 38-year-old woman named Sol Silvano Alcocer from Ciudad Victoria.

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 “Francisco Morales” from Tamaulipas.