This past week was anything but uneventful concerning news of Cartel violence here in our corner of God’s field. On Tuesday (June 23rd) I was ministering in the prison at Santa Adelaida. The talk of the prison was the gun battles that took place the previous night in Matamoros, but I personally received other reports on Tuesday that were a little more disturbing to me than that. Two assistant wardens who I know very well (one from Santa Adelaida and the other from Nuevo Laredo) were accosted on the road, on separate occasions, by the Gulf Coast Cartel. Damian, assistant warden from Santa Adelaida, was robbed and shaken up at gunpoint, but was released without physical harm. However, Maira, who previously was assistant warden at the Reynosa prison, was not as fortunate. She was not only accosted, but abducted for a period of time, and abused by these men before being set free. Maira has since given up her position within the penal system because of this ordeal. I have known Maira for several years and it hurts because she was a friend. She has a Christian background and is from Santa Adelaida.
On Thursday (June 25th) I was ministering at the Reynosa prison. I was informed by Fabriola, one of the Social Workers, that she also had been robbed and accosted by the cartel the previous week. She was still shook up as she related the details to me of her experience. What made it even harder for her was that her father had been kidnapped by the Cartel almost a year ago. Her family has never received any news concerning his whereabouts, or what has happened to him. She started to cry as she related to me that they know he is dead, but that the hardest part was that they have not had the opportunity to bury his body.
I still am being asked regularly concerning the conditions now in Mexico. I personally see very little violent activity now on the roads, but all the reports that I receive are that things are as bad, or worse than ever. Please remember your missionaries laboring in Mexico, in your prayers , that God would continue to grant them protective favor as they travel these roads.
Man…be careful. Mr Morgan