*See updates below*
A narcobloqueo is a coordinated attack in which multiple heavily armed commando squads independently hijack buses, trucks and large commercial vehicles in a city, park them on main roads and especially at heavily traversed intersections, and then set them afire. Such tactics are designed to disrupt normal traffic flow, confuse and embarrass local law enforcement authorities and above all incite terror in the local populace.
Mexican cartel operatives pull off narcobloqueos from time to time, usually in major cities. Monterrey in northern Mexico, a seedbed of drug cartel rivalry and extreme violence, has experienced these kinds of attacks in recent years. This afternoon Guadalajara, capital of Jalisco state and the second largest city in the country, was struck. Guadalajara, regarded by many as the cultural center of Mexico, has a metro area population of about 4.5 million.
The governor reported that 26 vehicles were burned at 16 separate locations, 11 within central Guadalajara. There are also accounts of sporadic gun battles between attackers and police. No casualties have yet been reported, and no suspects have been identified. Guadalajara is under heavy security this evening, provided in part by military units.
Updates: Reports this evening say the narcobloqueo was precipitated by the Mexican army's capture of a top boss of the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, as well as his second-in-command, earlier in the day. So the attack was retaliatory. The United States Consulate in Guadalajara emitted an alert to all U.S. nationals in the area, urging them to remain in "secure areas" until further notice. Three were killed in today's events, and 16 suspects are in custody. Numerous combat assault weapons were seized from the cartel, including fragmentation grenades and grenade launchers.
The dead include a 27 year old man killed in a shootout with government forces, who presumably was one of the attackers. A bus driver, 49, also died after the assailants spread gasoline in his vehicle and ignited it.
One Mexican presidential candidate wants to entirely remove military forces from the drug war: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2012/02/lopez-obrado-repeats-promise-to-pull.html. And the front-runner won't tell anybody what his strategy is (or if he has one): http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2012/03/pena-nieto-still-avoids-key-drug-war.html.
Guadalajara had another experience with narco terror in November 2011: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2011/11/narco-terror-hits-guadalajara-mexicos.html.
Police are primary targets of brazen daytime attacks in Ciudad Juárez: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2012/01/police-are-now-primary-targets-of.html.
Juárez police take refuge in fortress hotels to escape roaming cartel hit teams: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2012/01/red-alert-forces-juarez-police-to-seek.html.
Local police suffer the most in Mexico's drug war - underpaid and outgunned: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2011/11/local-police-suffer-most-in-mexicos.html.
