Two Eagle Pass international bridges closed due to gun battles in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico

By: Jose G. Landa

The two City of Eagle Pass international bridges between Eagle Pass, Texas and its Mexican sister-city, Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico on the Untied States-Mexico border were temporarily closed down for several hours on Tuesday, March 6, 2012, at approximately 8:30 P.M. after a series of gun battles in Piedras Negras, Coahuila erupted between the Mexican military and armed men sporting high-powered automatic weapons, machine guns, and rocket grenade launchers.

According to Mexican press reports, there were at least two gun battles between the Mexican military and armed men. One gun battle was on Highway 57 in Nava, Coahuila, just a few miles outside of Piedras Negras, Coahuila, near the new Grupo Modelo beer brewery plant and the Mineria Carbonifera de Rio Escondido (MICARE) headquarters, a subsidiary or affiliate of Altos Hornos de Mexico, S.A. de C.V. (AHMSA). The second gun battle occurred inside the city limits of Piedras Negras, Coahuila near the Laguito Mexicano (Mexican Lake) public park. Throughout the evening gunfire was heard in the downtown Piedras Negras, Coahuila as the Mexican military conducted operations seeking to find the armed men.

According to Mexican press reports, there was at least one death of a female officer and up to as many 11 military soldiers wounded in the armed confrontations. The injured were medically treated at the Mexican Social Security Institute Hospital No. 11 in Piedras Negras, Coahuila.

American federal authorities with the United States Department of Homeland Security closed the two international bridges in Eagle Pass to protect the safety of American citizens and prevent the violence and any armed men from crossing into the United States.

Eagle Pass Mayor Ramsey English Cantu confirmed that the two City of Eagle Pass international bridges were closed as a precautionary safety measure.