Tony Tormenta Goes Down

Tony Tormenta, the brother of the leader of Mexico's Gulf Cartel, was killed on Saturday. This event aggravates a highly-dangerous situation:

MEXICO CITY — Mexican security forces killed reputed Gulf cartel leader Antonio Ezequiel Cardenas Guillen, one of Mexico's most-wanted drug lords, in a spectacular, hours-long gunbattle Friday in the northern border city of Matamoros.

Cardenas Guillen, also known as "Tony Tormenta” or "Tony the Storm,” is the brother of imprisoned former leader Osiel Cardenas Guillen and is believed to have run the powerful cartel along with Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sanchez.

He is the latest in a growing number of high-profile cartel leaders who have been captured or killed by the armed forces since President Felipe Calderon stationed them across the country to battle drug traffickers.

...Gunfire first broke out about 11 a.m. at an upscale residential area in Matamoros and shoot-outs ensued throughout the city after that for about eight hours, said a resident who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisal.

A video posted on YouTube shows a string of sport utility vehicles and pickups racing through a street while continuous shooting is heard in the background.

Men wearing ski masks get out of a car and use it to block the street.

I don't know if this is the YouTube video referred to in the news story, but it's interesting nonetheless. This fellow tries to get close to the action. Below is an approximate translation of the accompanying text:

About 20 late model trucks belonging to the Gulf cartel are shown making defensive maneuvers to stop the incursion of Mexican sailors that were aimed at stopping Ezequiel Cardenas, alias "Tony Tormenta", one of the most powerful drug traffickers and sought after Mexico and the United States.

This video shows the organizational and tactical maneuvers used by the assassins who tried to encircle and neutralize the actions of sailors and soldiers, showing the level of danger to the civilian population who have to live here every day and the high risk to Special Forces.