Thirteen people have died in the past 24 hours in a series of gun battles between government security forces and marauding hit squads in the Mexican states of Jalisco and Michoacán. Seven were police officers. Another seven persons were injured, including five policemen.
Press reports this afternoon said that a total of 20 persons have been killed in the two states since early Sunday morning. Some appeared to be execution victims caught up in local inter-gang rivalries.
The fiercest attack was in the municipality of Ayotlán, where 30 heavily armed commandos traveling in up to 10 vehicles attacked city government offices. Three local policemen and a civilian were killed, in what amounted to an ambush while they were eating in an outdoor restaurant. Ayotlán is a town of about 40,000 in Jalisco, 70 miles east of the Guadalajara metro complex. It's northeast of the popular American-Canadian expatriate community of Ajijic, on the shores of Lake Chapala (Oct. 11 - Jalisco homicides remain unabated in September).
Mexican Federal Police agents as well as military units rushed to the area to back up state and local police forces. They used several Black Hawk helicopters, given to Mexico under a $1.6 billion security assistance program, in an effort to secure the surrounding region (May 29 - U.S. set to approve more Mérida Initiative funds).
No suspects have yet been identified, but law enforcement spokesmen blamed the violence on rival gangs, which are increasingly taking over narcotics trafficking and organized crime activities as major cartel kingpins are arrested or killed in battles with federal security forces (Mexican analysts agree: crime gangs replacing drug cartels will be difficult to track and fight; Mexican drug cartels will likely morph into "super gangs," says U.S. security firm). Last week Mexico's new attorney general said the government believes 60-80 drug cartels and regional gangs are currently at work in the country, including dozens whose identities have not been reported by the press and are unknown to the public.
Investigators in Ayotlán counted at least 300 expended 7.62 mm shells at multiple shooting scenes. The round is commonly chambered in military weapons, and can be fired from the AK-47 and AR-15. The assault rifles are invariably carried by gangs and organized crime assault teams. The Mexican government says that 80% or more are acquired from firearms retailers or private sellers in the U.S.
Violence also visited the town of Briseñas in Michoacán state, just south of Jalisco. Mexico's drug war was launched in Michoacán on Dec. 11, 2006, but the area still remains highly unstable (Sept. 16 - Gruesome discovery Independence Day).
Follow-up stories:
Dec. 25 - Death toll in Jalisco-Michoacán violence rises to 28, including 14 police officers
Dec. 28 - Local police resign or desert posts in Jalisco, Michoacán
Dec. 31 - An interesting report by a reliable source says the border between Jalisco and Michoacán is "on fire," due to an ongoing turf war involving the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), Los Zetas and the Caballeros Templarios. CJNG is often known as Los Matazetas (the "Zeta killers"). It staged two narco blockades within the perimeters of Guadalajara earlier this year, the first in March and the second in August, both reported by MGRR. More regional violence is predicted in 2013.
Dec. 23 - Mexico's new PRI government seeks huge increase in domestic security budget
Dec. 19 - Enrique's challenging homework
Dec. 19 - In the land of the Sierra Tarahumara, narco traffickers wage open war against the poorest
2012 violence in Jalisco state
Nov. 30 - Nearly 59,000 dead in six year drug war
Nov. 30 - Commando squad attacks Guadalajara suburban police unit
Nov. 21 - Mexicans are worried about domestic security
Oct. 18 - Guadalajara area police commander in grave condition after organized crime hit
Oct. 14 - Bus driver executions surge in Guadalajara, but why?
Sept. 16 - Gruesome discovery in Jalisco on Independence Day
Sept. 6 - Six murders in 12 hours alarm Guadalajara metro and suburbs; security sweeps underway
Aug. 27 - U.S. State Dept. issues Guadalajara warning
Aug. 26 - More narco blockades in Guadalajara, by Los Matazetas
Mar. 9 - Narco terror in metropolitan Guadalajara
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