An armed attack on a municipal police station and a private home in the state of Zacatecas, in the north-central region of Mexico, left at least one person dead this Friday, the state government reported. The incident occurred in the municipality of Trinidad García de la Cadena, where an armed group attacked the building housing the police headquarters, a health center, and civil courts. According to initial reports, a private residence was also attacked. The Secretary of Government of Zacatecas, Rodrigo Reyes, acknowledged in a recorded message that the attack occurred during the early morning hours and that the perpetrators belong to 'a group of organized crime that infiltrated from the state of Jalisco.' Federal sources confirmed that the attackers presumably belong to a criminal cell of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), which for six years has been disputing drug trafficking routes in the region with the 'Los Mayitos' faction of the Sinaloa Cartel. The official explained that the proximity to Jalisco turns the region into a 'gray area of operation,' facilitating the movement of criminal organizations; a problem that is exacerbated by the scarce police force in the area. 'Because crime groups move from this state to this zone, but it must also be pointed out that it is a region that unfortunately still has some deficiencies in its municipal police forces,' he stated. Among these 'vulnerable' municipalities, Reyes mentioned Trinidad García de la Cadena, Tlaltenango, El Teúl, Mezquital del Oro, Santa María, and Tepechitlán. The attack caused damage to security installations and patrol cars, and generated an intense mobilization of federal and state forces, according to local media reports. The violence sparked fear among residents, with businesses closed and empty streets in the morning, according to gathered data. In 2025, the state of Zacatecas recorded a reduction in intentional homicides in line with the national trend (about 68 daily homicides in the country), but episodes of high-impact violence still persist in the state, including armed clashes and attacks on security corporations in different regions. Zacatecas was one of the states affected by a wave of violence in February, with narco-blockades and attacks, following a federal operation in which the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias El Mencho, was killed.
