Monday, April 5, 2010

Tampico Fair Officially Canceled After 7 People Are Killed By Drug Cartel Feud

Bottom photo: Tampico Fair main stage area on Sunday, photo by El Puerto Jaibo

Radiorama, the Tampico Fair main sponsor in Tamaulipas, Mexico officially on Sunday canceled the 18 day Tampico Fair after the shooting deaths.

By H. Nelson Goodson
April 5, 2010

Tampico City, Tamaulipas, Mexico - On Monday, workers finally remove the last components of the main stage at the Tampico Fair 2010. El Puerto Jaibo reported that business merchants and Radiorama, the main Tampico Fair sponsors had officially canceled the fair due to the recent homicides reported at the table dance Mirage Nightclub and shots fired inside the fair. The cancelation was attributed to security reasons and the 7 days remaining of the fair were canceled.
The fair organizers on Sunday notified all the vendors it had canceled the event, but fell short to say if the group would absorb the financial loses or would refund rental costs for the remaining days.
This is the first time in its 50th year history, the Tampico Fair has been canceled, according to Radiorama. Radiorama operates a radio network in the region, but the owners have yet to release a statement concerning the future of the annual fair.
Businesses, nightclubs and merchants in the area have decided to close early from now on until further notice, due to anticipated drug cartel feuds in the area that left 5 men and 2 women dead at the Mirage Nightclub on Friday.
Mexican state authorities had canceled the Tampico Fair on Saturday after rival cartel gangs ignited a gun battle at 10:00 p.m. on Friday inside the table dance Mirage Nightclub. The gun battle resulted in the deaths of 7 people. Authorities were also investigating reported multiple gun shots fired inside the fair.
The Mexican army and state authorities evacuted more than 18,000 people just after 11:00 p.m. from the Carpenter Lagoon grounds. Police also closed all the restaurants and night clubs where the 18 day event takes place.
Jenny Rivera, a popular Norteña singer was within 3 seconds to begin her concert, when the gun battle broke out. Rivera in her twitter later reported "how sad and unfortunate time to see people run out of her concert, when the gun battle began."
Reports on Twitter and social networks by festivalgoers who were present say, people at the fair and those attending the Rivera concert heard a gun battle inside the fair grounds. The sound of the gun battle made thousands of people run to the nearest exits and also forced other people to tear down the surrounding security fence at the fair to escape from the area to avoid getting shot.
On Saturday, Yurida Tijeras who was scheduled to perform in a concert that day reported on her Twitter, that her performance had been postponed due to security reasons and had no further information.
State authorities, busniess merchants and Radiorama decided to cancel the remaining days of the event for security reasons and to avoid further bloodshed and panic among area residents.
The Tampico fair began on March 25 and was scheduled to run until April 11.
Police officials have confirmed that at least six armed and shooting confrontations between drug cartel rivals have been reported since Friday in the Tampico metropolitan area and 10 people have died including the 7 killed at the Mirage. 

Dramatic Youtube video of moments before Jenny Rivera was to go on stage and then people attending the concert at the Tampico Fair 2010 began to flee in panic after a gun battle errupted http://bit.ly/bW71IG

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