Mexico City, Mexico:
A shootout amongst suspected drug cartels left 18 individuals dead Friday in Mexico, a government official stated.
The gunfight occurred in a remote region of Zacatecas state in the country’s north, stated Rocio Aguilar, a spokeswoman for the state government.
Drug-associated violence has claimed more than 300,000 lives in Mexico due to the fact 2006, when the government began deploying federal troops to fight the cartels.
“There were 18 dead, and the confrontation occurred in the community of San Juan Capistrano, in the municipality of Valparaiso,” Aguilar added.
The battle was amongst rival gangs fighting more than turf, she told Milenio Television.
Valparaiso borders Jalisco state, a stronghold of a potent cartel known as Jalisco Nueva Generacion.
Authorities say the gang is waging a violent campaign to take handle of drug trafficking routes.
Three cars, one of them burned-out, had been identified at the scene, as effectively as “a significant number of casings of different calibers,” according to the government’s Local Coordination Group, in charge of safety in Zacatecas.
Local media have reported a series of shootouts due to the fact Wednesday, when the bodies of two police officers had been identified hanging from a bridge in Zacatecas.
But Aguilar stated that so far authorities have not identified a hyperlink amongst that grisly uncover and Friday’s gun battle in Valparaiso.
Mexico’s president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, acknowledged Friday there had been safety difficulties in the area, but stated his administration was creating progress in the fight against crime.
“The state has the obligation to guarantee peace and tranquility, the security of all citizens,” Lopez Obrador stated in his usual morning conference.
He stated the government was “making an effort” in Zacatecas, as effectively as other troubled states.
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