Mexican army kills 8 suspects in clash

MEXICO CITY — Eight suspected drug gang gunmen died in a battle with Mexican soldiers in the remote mountains of northern Chihuahua state, the federal Public Safety Department said Thursday.

The department cited an internal army report saying the clash occurred near the rural town of Madera, about 145 miles south of the U.S. border.

The gunmen apparently opened fire on an army patrol, but the Defense Department did not offer any information on the attack or the identity of the attackers. The area is frequently used by gangs to produce and traffic drugs.

Also Thursday, the U.S. Treasury Department added two companies owned by daughters of drug lord Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada to the list of sanctioned companies underthe Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act.

In a statement, the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City said the two women, Maria Teresa Zambada Niebla and Midiam Patricia Zambada Niebla, served as “front persons” for their father’s illicit transactions. The companies named to the list are Arte y Diseno de Culiacan SA de CV and Autotransportes JYM SA de CV.

Any assets the businesses may have under U.S. jurisdiction are now frozen, and U.S. citizens are barred from any financial or commercial dealings with them.

Zambada is wanted on drugtrafficking charges issued by at least three U.S. district courts. His daughters had been identified by the Treasury Department as participants in his gang’s operations since 2007.

On Wednesday, the border city of Nuevo Laredo was practically paralyzed by late-night gunbattles in which gangs forced residents from their cars and used the vehicles to block streets. The sound of gunfire alarmed Texans on the U.S. side of the Rio Grande.

The Nuevo Laredo city government posted messages on its Facebook page warning residents to stay indoors as shooting occurred at several intersections in the city across from Laredo, Texas.

Frightened people on the U.S. side of the border called emergency dispatchers after hearing the gunfire, Laredo police spokesman Joe Baeza said Thursday. But, he said, there was no spillover violence.

Nuevo Laredo city officials said they could not immediately confirm witness reports that several gunmen were killed.

Gangs used stolen cars and buses to block several main avenues. When the violence subsided, the government urged residents to come forward and reclaim their stolen vehicles.