A convoy of more than 20 Mexican Army vehicles arrived in Ciudad Mier to guard and protect families caught in the crossfire of gun battles between rival drug trafficking organizations.

Ciudad Mier has been the focus of intense combat following the death of Gulf Cartel leader Antonio Ezequiel Cardenas-Guillen in Matamoros during a battle with marines last week.

The fighting has been non-stop in Ciudad Mier since Cardenas-Guillen’s death.

Action 4 News has learned that the Mexican Army has sent reinforcements to both Ciudad Mier and to guard refugees at a shelter in Miguel Aleman.

Families who fled the violence are receiving help from neighboring towns.

Tamaulipas Gov. Eugenio Hernandez-Flores told reporters that the Mexico’s federal government is sending more reinforcements to the troubled border region known as “La Frontera Chica” or “The Little Border.”

Hernandez-Flores said more marines, soldiers and federal police are expected to arrive in the region due to the violence of the past several days.

The Tamaulipas governor told reporters that there was an interagency meeting on Tuesday to discuss news strategies about how to protect the residents of Tamaulipas.

Meanwhile, teachers have been fleeing the violence in the “Frontera Chica” communities of Ciudad Mier, Miguel Aleman and Camargo.

The Tamaulipas Teacher’s Union reports that 100 teachers have abandoned their classrooms in a region south of the Rio Grande from Roma and Rio Grande City.

The union reported that another 24 teachers in Reynosa and 25 teachers from Matamoros have done the same.

The union told reporters that they have sent administrative personnel to take the place of the teachers in the classrooms.