Mexico seizes cartel's home-made tanks

Tue Jun 7, 2011 3:43AM

A makeshift armored truck was seized on June 4, 2011 in the Mexican city of Camargo.

Mexican soldiers have discovered armor-plated "tanks" belonging to a notorious drug cartel in a warehouse in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas.

Soldiers on patrol came across the warehouse after a firefight in the town of Ciudad Camargo with a group of armed men, two of whom took refuge inside the depot, AFP quoted a military source as saying on Monday.

They found two home-made armored trucks in the warehouse, which belongs to the Gulf Cartel, the source said, explaining that the vehicles were covered in steel plates one inch (2.5 cm) thick, strong enough to "resist the caliber of personal weapons the soldiers use."

The air-conditioned armored vehicles had portholes mounted on them so that snipers could open them to fire from inside and remain protected.

Soldiers also found two other half-armored trucks along with 23 powerful tractor-trailer trucks, locally known as "monsters," that were apparently going to be armored.

Soldiers deployed in the northeastern Mexican border region have confiscated 109 of such armored vehicles in recent years. Among the home-made tanks was the "Popemobile," named for its armored cabin resembling that used to protect Pope Benedict XVI on foreign trips.

In May, police discovered an armored vehicle with portholes and capable of carrying 20 gunmen while carrying out a sweep against the Los Zetas drug cartel in the western state of Jalisco.

The Gulf Cartel and the Zetas are engaged in a bitter fight to control the lucrative smuggling routes spanning eastern Mexico to the United States. The gangs apparently use the home-made tanks in their turf wars and to protect drug shipments.

Mexico has long been plagued by drug-related crime, but the violence has boomed since the government launched a military crackdown on organized crime in 2006, which has left at least 37,000 people dead.

MRS/HRF