THE HORROR OF MATA'S MAÑA REACHES ACROSS THE RIVER

Special to El Rrun-Rrun

There is a family mourning the loss of a father, a son, and brother today in Matamoros and Brownsville.

Just a few days ago, Juan's (not his real name) sister Rosario (not her real name) was working as a provider for en elderly Brownsville woman. The provider is an American citizen and has her own family, but Juan, her brother, had chosen to remain in his native Matamoros where he was eking out a living buying and selling used appliances like washers and dryers which he repaired and sold.

It was not a hugely lucrative trade, but it provided for his little family and he struggled for years to make it pay to feed and clothe his wife and children.

Unbeknownst to the family, Juan had been visited at his small shop by thugs from the so-called Maña, and they attempted to extort his meager earnings. Pay up or else, they warned.

Juan had resisted the threats and continued working. If he had agreed to pay, he would have ended working for the extortionists rather than use his meager earnings to feed his family.

All that changed three nights ago. At about 3 a.m., a group of heavily-armed men stormed into his house and dragged Juan away. He was not heard of for three days and the family awaited the usual calls for money and the threats that Juan would be  harmed if they didn't comply with their ransom demands.

None of that happened.

Instead, as his sister and family spent those three days worried about his well-being and whereabouts, the dreaded call came in to Rosario as she went about her provider chores in the elderly woman's home.  Her brother Juan's tortured and bullet-riddled body was found propped against the wall of a Matamoros clinic.  They got nothing because he had nothing to give them. 

The violence there has gotten to the point that the family is grateful that the criminals left his body where it could be found and didn't leave them with the uncertainty of his fate.

The elderly woman Rosario took care of – who herself had lost two brothers to organized crime in Tamaulipas who sought to extort them of their small earnings – heard her answer the call and heard Rosario say "No, don't tell me..." and then heard her run into a small bedroom in the rear of house and her heart-rending  sobs over the murder of her older brother.

Rosario is one of many people on this side of the Rio Grande who have – like her elderly charge – been touched by the criminals on the other. Juan left a widow, orphaned children, his grieving family, and the failed state of Tamaulipas. Many times, these criminal groups work hand in hand with local and state police and are protected by some political parties. There is no one to complain to.

Old-time Matamoros residents recall the days when the border rackets were controlled and fought over by the likes of the Guerra and the Del Fierro families. The criminals fought over the turf among themselves and did not bother the city's residents, el pueblo. 

But his new group of thugs – la maña – respects no class or socioeconomic level. They extort everyone from small businesses, shoe shine boys and even street vendors under the threat of death. As a result, many larger businesses that can afford it have moved across the river to do business in Brownsville rather than continue working for the extortionists.

There is a family mourning the loss of a father, a son, and brother today in Brownsville and Matamoros.

And there is nothing anyone can – or will – do.