The army has confiscated 100 “narco-trucks” in Tamaulipas, reports El Universal. As the video shows, these are vehicles built to withstand serious offensive warfare. Armored car sales in Mexico rose 20 percent last year, according to Reuters, as upper class families sought ways to protect themselves from kidnapping and attacks. It is possible that criminal groups also contributed to the sales boom. The fact that gangs like the Zetas are buying Level 5 bulletproof cars, then further modifying them to better accommodate snipers, is an indication of how brutal the war in Tamaulipas has become.
Anyone reading this that has worked in Iraq, has probably seen a vehicle like the Granite APC or similar armored vehicle rolling around. Companies bought armored vehicles, or contractors within the companies up-armored their soft-skin vehicles from scratch to help survive the IED threats in Iraq. So when we see the same kind of vehicles in Mexico, this is familiar to contractors and the military.
It also indicates the scale of the war down there. Mexico is looking just like Iraq back in the day. I am sure the IED threat is a concern of the cartels as well–hence why armored cars like this makes sense. These vehicles are also purpose built for not only the defense, but offense and the ingenuity of design will probably reflect those purposes. Mind you, this is on the border with the US, and not some middle east country far far away… –Matt
One of the many gun trucks of the cartels. This is Mexico, and not Iraq....
Granite APC "the Rock" built on a Ford F-550 chassis, used in Iraq.
Video: Narco-Trucks Ready for War in Mexico
Thursday, 14 April 2011
Written by Elyssa Pachico
The armored cars Mexican gangs use to do battle in the contested state of Tamaulipas are increasingly technologically sophisticated, equipped with sniper platforms and James Bond-style gadgets.
A video produced by newspaper El Universal surveys vehicles that the military has seized from the Zetas and the Gulf Cartel in the northern state, which is one of the most violent in Mexico.
The cars range from crude imitations of tanks to SUVs capable of stopping rounds from M-16 and AK-47s. Gunmen are shying away from using flashy, luxury cars, El Universal reports, opting instead for steel-plated vehicles more fit for combat, in some cases, than those used by the military. (more…)