The fight between drug cartels and the Mexican military has people across the border on high alert.
For one local Reverend, the situation across the border is especially heartbreaking.
The Reverend says he's heard reports of drug activity in Nuevo Laredo, but never thought he would witness it first hand.
Well today he did and it's changing his outlook of Mexico.
“I almost got involved in or caught in the gunfire between the military and drug cartel.”
A Laredo reverend and frequent visitor to Mexico, this man wants to keep his identity concealed after witnessing a frightening cartel chase while headed to work one hour south of Nuevo Laredo Wednesday afternoon.
“A caravan of very nice vehicles with Mexican tags and Texas plates traveling at a high rate of speed and if your familiar with that highway its in a very bad condition where you almost have to stop at many points to get around pot holes.”
Minutes later, Mexican military vehicles followed.
“About 6 vehicles in hot pursuit well armed and ready.”
And that incident wasn’t the first. A second closer to the bridge in Nuevo Laredo involved a caravan of military arresting people on the side of the road.
The tires of the vehicles had been blown out.
“I immediately decided I’m getting out of here going back across the bridge and about 10 minutes after a friend in Nuevo Laredo called me and said there was a shoot out happening at that moment.”
The friend told him many people had been shot, only two blocks away from where the reverend had been.
He says he's now afraid for the Mexican people.
“Not knowing what can happen at any time it can happen in their front yards. This happened in front of a school in front of a business in the middle of the day.”
“I saw it with my own eyes …its making me change the whole way I think when I cross the border.”
Now he wonders why the US government doesn't try to step in and help.
And maybe they don’t realize gravity of the situation.
“A lot of innocent people get killed caught in the crossfire just because of a drug addiction.”
For now, he hopes he will someday see the violence there stop.
“I can pray that I will I can pray that I will.”
He says he's canceled missionary work projects set for this weekend, hoping the situation will calm down.
And while he will continue going across, he'll be leaving his family here at home.