Mexican authorities suspect that drug cartel Los Zetas is responsible for detonating a car bomb on Thursday morning outside a police barracks in the border town of Nuevo Laredo which injured eight officers as reported by The Associated Press: "The Zetas, founded by Mexican special forces defectors, have carried out a number of sophisticated attacks, but Thursday's assault appeared to be one of the most elaborate."
Nuevo Lardeo is just over the border from Laredo, TX, and residents on the north side of the border "reported hearing and feeling the explosion" as reported by San Antonio Express.
Car bombs are a relatively recent weapon by the narco insurgents.
Last October a bomb-rigged car exploded in Mexico's northern industrial city of Monterrey, the capital of Nuevo Leon state, as a military convoy passed by as reported by E. Eduardo Castillo for The Associated Press.
According to a former U.S. intelligence agent terror group Hezbollah has established itself in Mexico, and is providing explosives training to the drug cartels as reported by 10News in San Diego, CA:
He told 10News the group receives cartel cash and protection in exchange for Hezbollah expertise. "From money laundering to firearms training and explosives training," the agent said. * * * Tunnels the cartels have built that cross from Mexico into the U.S. have grown increasingly sophisticated. It is a learned skill, the agent said points to Hezbollah's involvement.
In responding to the car bombing of the police barracks on Thursday U.S. Congressman Henry Cuellar said "the cartels are taking their operations to a very dangerous and deadly level" which "he fears could eventually pose a threat to those living in the U.S. along the border" as reported by Katie Lopez for KGBT:
There are problems there and they won't go away. This is a 2,000 mile border we have with Mexico and we have to do everything we can to stop the violence over there or we will have more problems on the U.S. side.
