Twelve gunmen and a Mexican marine are dead following a shootout on an island being used by the Zetas drug cartel to smuggle marijuana on Falcon Lake.
Mexican Navy officials reported that the incident took place on Sunday afternoon.
According to a statement released on Monday morning, the shootout took place on an island about 1.86 miles to the northeast of Nueva Ciudad Guerrero, Tamaulipas.
Navy officials said the island was being used by the Zetas drug cartel as a camp to ferry large amounts of marijuana to the United States.
An intense firefight at the island ended with twelve gunmen and one marine being killed.
Neither the names of the gunmen nor the marine were released but the case remains under investigation.
Authorities reported seizing assault rifles, ammunition and bulletproof vests at the scene.
The shootout took place near where American David Hartley was reportedly shot and killed by Zetas cartel gunmen.
It's not clear if American federal officials were notified about the Sunday afternoon battle but Zapata County Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez said his office was not notified.
Sheriff Gonzalez said it is alarming that local law enforcement officials were not notified about a major battle going on.
“Obviously, there is a big gap in communication between Mexico and the United States,” Gonzalez said. “Why didn’t they let local law enforcement know? If the suspect flees to the United States by boat or other means, we need to know.”
Sheriff Gonzalez told Action 4 News that he plans to discuss the shootout and other incidents when he testifies before Congress' Homeland Security Subcommittee in Washington DC on Wednesday.
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