MONTERREY, Mexico – Nine suspected operatives of the Gulf drug cartel died in gunfights with Mexican marines in the northern border city of Reynosa, authorities told EFE on Friday.

“The violent events of Thursday night and early Friday caused nine deaths,” a spokesman for the Tamaulipas state government said.

Four suspects were killed in a clash that took place around 2:15 am Friday in Fuentes, an affluent neighborhood where a Gulf cartel boss is thought to reside.

A confrontation in Reynosa’s La Joya district left three dead, while two other bodies were found elsewhere in the city, which lies just across the Rio Grande from McAllen, Texas.

Amid the battles, cartel operatives blocked streets and set fire to an automobile impound lot.

The Gulf cartel dominates the drug trade in Reynosa.