Cartel threats, constant robberies, and extortions forced one of Mexico’s largest convenience store chains to cease operations in a Mexican border city. The incident is not the first of its kind; in 2024, more than 200 stores in Tamaulipas closed their doors for several days over similar cartel threats.
The closures occurred over the weekend in the border city of Rio Bravo, a Gulf Cartel-controlled city immediately south of Donna, Texas. While Tamaulipas government officials sought to keep the store closures out of the news, more than 20 Oxxo stores, part of the FEMSA group, closed over the weekend.
Store chain officials blamed cartel extortions and constant robberies that were not being addressed by local and state authorities. In that city, the Gulf Cartel has been demanding a protection fee from local businesses simply to allow them to operate.
Credit: Breitbart News Foundation / Cartel Chronicles
The sudden closure of all convenience stores in the city prompted government officials to act. In a prepared statement, Rio Bravo’s Mayor Miguel Angel Almaraz said he was in communication with the state government, which deployed special forces units to restore security to the city and its stores.
After their stores were closed for four days this week, the Oxxos in Rio Bravo reopened following the deployment of security forces.
Credit: Rio Bravo Mayor’s Office
The mass closing of stores over cartel threats is not the first of its kind in Tamaulipas. In 20204, over 200 stores throughout the state closed their doors after the Cartel Del Noreste faction of Los Zetas threatened the same convenience store chain. The stores remained closed for several days until government officials issued a series of empty promises to protect them. As Breitbart Texas reported, it was during that time that cartel gunmen killed Julio Almanza, the president of the Tamaulipas Chamber of Commerce, who had been outspoken about the extortions not only in Nuevo Laredo, but also in Matamoros and several other cities. That murder remains unsolved.
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Editor’s Note: Breitbart News Foundation traveled to Mexico City and the 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 News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles are published in both English and their original Spanish. This article was written by “J.A. Espinoza” and “J.C. Sanchez”, from Tamaulipas.
The Breitbart News Foundation is an independent non-profit. All content created by it is available for licensing without charge to any legitimate publisher with a large audience and that agrees to the licensing terms. For licensing information, please contact us.
