Armed clash in Mexico leaves 44 dead.
At least 44 people died during a confrontation between federal police and suspected criminals from the Jalisco New Generation cartel in the violent Mexican state of Michoacán, in the west of the country, government sources said on Friday (23); a source told Reuters that the police went to a site in the municipality of Tanhuato, as they had information that there were heavily armed people there; upon arriving at the site, the incursion began in which the Federal Police attacked by land and air, three weeks after the cartel shot down a military helicopter in one of the most audacious attacks by an organized crime group against state security.
By Lizbeth Diaz and Dave Graham
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - At least 44 people died during a confrontation between federal police and suspected criminals from the Jalisco New Generation cartel in the violent western Mexican state of Michoacán, government sources said Friday.
A source within sources told Reuters that police went to a site in the municipality of Tanhuato because they had information that there were heavily armed people there.
Upon arriving at the location, the raid began, with the Federal Police attacking by land and air, three weeks after the cartel shot down a military helicopter in one of the most audacious attacks by an organized crime group against state security.
Of the dead, 42 were armed civilians and two were federal police officers belonging to an elite security group, two sources told Reuters.
A federal police officer was seriously injured after the confrontation, which occurred just weeks before the June 7 elections in the state, in which a governor and dozens of mayors will be elected.
A week ago, the local police in Tanhuato were disarmed following the assassination of a mayoral candidate from a nearby town.
Tanhuato is a municipality bordering the state of Jalisco, whose territory is disputed by drug trafficking groups such as the Jalisco Nueva Generación cartel and Los Caballeros Templarios, which operates mainly in Michoacán.
The region experienced years of bloody clashes between criminal groups, who, in addition to drug trafficking, ventured into other crimes such as mineral theft, kidnapping, and extortion, among others.
More than 40 people have died in acts of violence since the beginning of Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto's administration in December 2012, and the violence continues despite the arrest of several drug kingpins.