Protesters shut down commercial bridge linking Laredo, Nuevo Laredo

At least 200 demonstrators have blocked a major commercial bridge between Mexico and Texas to protest the disappearance of dozens of people in the Mexican border state of Tamaulipas.

The bridge is used exclusively for cargo traffic traversing the border between Nuevo Laredo in Tamaulipas and Laredo, Texas.

The protest began around 9:30 a.m. Monday and was still going on as of late afternoon.

Thousands of cargo trucks make the crossing each day, and long lines of vehicles backed up in both directions.

Demonstrators were protesting what they call a weak response by authorities to 43 complaints over disappearances filed with prosecutors in Nuevo Laredo. Some held a banner that read, “We demand justice for our disappeared.”

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