The raging cartel war in Mexico near the Texas border has escalated so far out of control that the Mayor of the border city of Matamoros called on the Mexican government to step in and help with the ongoing violence.

As Breitbart Texas previously reported, since February 1st, two different factions of the Gulf Cartel have gone to war, turning the streets of various border cities into war zones. Some of the most intense fighting has taken place in Matamoros where, in addition to regular firefights and blockades, gunmen have thrown a grenade at a local television station, kidnapped and beat the news director of a local newspaper, and thrown a grenade at the mayor’s office at city hall. The grenade at the mayor’s office did not explode, but the one at the television station did, and injured two employees.

While Tamaulipas state officials have tried to minimize the situation and claimed publicly that the violence is due to increased police action, Matamoros Mayor Leticia Salazar has taken a different approach. According to a news release from Salazar’s office released to Breitbart Texas, Salazar called Mexico’s Secretary of the Interior to ask him to intervene to help stop the ongoing violence.

“We will continue to work hand in hand with federal forces in a permanent manner in order to get the peace and tranquility that we all need,” Salazar said in the prepared statement.

In the first few days of the conflict, the Tamaulipas government confirmed that authorities had killed 14 gunmen and found another gunman dead; however, they have not released any information about the number of gunmen killed by their rival cartel members. Local news outlets have reported unconfirmed figures of more than 30 casualties.

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