In a gunfight in Mexico, eight alleged cartel members were killed
In a hilly region of the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua, suspected cartel members engaged in a gunfight that left at least eight people dead and one injured on Wednesday, according to local authorities.
According to the state prosecutor's office, the violence occurred in Guachochi, one of the main cities in a remote mountainous region that is home to the Indigenous Tarahumara people.
At a crossroads, "Eight lifeless people were found, three of them burned, as well as an injured male person, who was transferred for medical attention," the statement from the official source read.
The police also discovered two burned-out vans. One of the most powerful cartels in Mexico, the Sinaloa, was involved in the altercation between competing cells, according to local media, and one of the fatalities was reportedly a local cartel leader.
Violence associated with drug trafficking has been roiling the Tarahumara mountain region, which is situated on one of the drug routes into the United States, for years.
Newspapers in Chihuahua have reported that the fighting in Guachochi has been worse recently, driving many residents out of the 14,500-person town. A man who burst into a church while pursuing a tour guide who was also killed in the incident murdered Jesuit priests Javier Campos and Joaquin Mora in Cerocahui, a highland village, a year ago.
Since the implementation of a contentious military anti-drug strategy in December 2006, Mexico has recorded more than 350,000 murders, with the majority being blamed on criminal organizations.
AFP
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