In the west of Mexico, the Mexican Army killed six presumed criminals amid the dispute between drug trafficking cartels that have recently caused fires, roadblocks, and other attacks. The Secretariat of Security and Civilian Protection (SSPC) reported that these violent events erupted in the state of Michoacán, where elements of the Mexican Army and the National Guard repelled attacks from criminal groups in the municipalities of Tarímbaro and Apatzingán.
The Secretary of the SSPC, Omar García Harfuch, mentioned that in addition to the presumed criminals killed, one was injured, and seven long firearms, tactical equipment, and a vehicle were secured. These events followed the violence that occurred in three states in western Mexico, Michoacán, Guanajuato, and Jalisco, where two police officers were killed, vehicle fires were recorded, attacks on stores occurred, blockades were set up, and authorities were assaulted.
The Government attributed these acts to the dispute between two criminal groups in the region, without specifying which ones. Operating in the area are the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and the Nueva Familia Michoacana, designated as a terrorist organization by the Government of the United States in February. The Security Cabinet indicated that the death of the presumed criminals occurred after an attack on the soldiers and the National Guard while they were trying to restore the rule of law in the area.
In Apatzingán and Tarímbaro, weapons, cartridges, tactical vests, and official vehicles damaged by gunfire were confiscated after the confrontations. These events place the states of Guanajuato, Jalisco, and Michoacán among the entities with the highest homicide rates nationwide, according to data from the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System.
