In a remote area of northwestern Zacatecas state, 18 people got killed in a Mexico drug gang shootout. The gunfight took place between two gangs.
The victims appear to members of the Sinaloa and Jalisco gangs. 18 corpses, two grenades, vehicles, and guns were found at the scene of the clash.
As per the government sources, the Mexico drug gang shootout took place on Friday. Rocio Aguilar, a spokeswoman for the state government said –
There were 18 dead, and the confrontation occurred in the community of San Juan Capistrano, in the municipality of Valparaiso,
The gunfight happened in a remote area of Zacatecas state in the country’s north,
The battle was between rival gangs fighting over turf.
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The government’s Local Coordination Group, in charge of security in Zacatecas, said –
Three vehicles, one of them burned-out, were found at the scene, as well as a significant number of casings of different calibers,
However, Aguilar said that
so far authorities have not found a link between that grisly find and Friday’s gun battle in Valparaiso.
On Friday, Mexico’s president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador stated –
there were security problems in the region,
administration was making progress in the fight against crime.
The state has the obligation to guarantee peace and tranquility, the security of all citizens,
He further said –
the government is making an effort in Zacatecas, as well as other troubled states.
Authorities also say that the Drug gangs are waging violent campaigns among themselves to take control of drug trafficking routes. In such incidents around 3,00,000 people died since 2016. Though the government deployed federal troops to counter the cartels.
Around 19 people were killed last weekend in violence on the US-Mexico border which was flared up due to the deaths in Zacatecas.
Zacatecas was once dominated by the old Zetas cartel. It is being fought over by a dizzying number of cartels. Zacatecas include the Sinaloa, Jalisco, Gulf, and Northeast cartels as well as remnants of the Zetas. Zetas call themselves “Talibans”.