“Six people were killed after attacking a Black Hawk helicopter belonging to the Mexican Marina (Semar),” Proceso reports. “The helicopter was patrolling the south of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, where they were attacked and repelled the aggression killing six civilians. The helicopter received six bullet impacts, but none of the three crew were injured. Semar explained that they carried out the aero operation to surveil a breach into the areas of Sabinas Hidalgo, Nuevo Leon and Nuevo Guerrero, Tamaulipas, to locate the criminal organization known in their data base . . .
The group of armed men commenced firing as soon as they noticed the presence of elements of Semar, according to the crew, they fired some warning shots, but they were ignored so they repelled the aggression and killed six people. Semar informs that they confiscated four vehicles and six firearms for exclusive use by the armed forces.
The incident follows a high-profile attack on a Mexican military helicopter in May, which killed three airmen. And another incident in June where drug thugs shot a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) helicopter, forcing it to make an emergency landing in Laredo, Texas.
Last year, Mexico bought (with our tax money?) 18 UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters, and then added three more this year. Given the cartels’ enormous profits and taste for .50-caliber rifles (and RPGs), expect to see more of this action in the days ahead – as and when the Mexican government and military cracks down on an out-of-favor cartel.