Title: 14 dead in shootout between Mexican cartel and farming community
Mexican authorities reported that a violent clash between gunmen from a criminal gang and residents of a small farming community in central Mexico resulted in 14 dead and 7 injured. The incident occurred in the hamlet of Texcaltitlan, located about 80 miles southwest of Mexico City.
Dramatic footage of the confrontation, which took place on Friday, was shared on social media and showed villagers armed with sickles and hunting rifles chasing down suspected gang members amidst bursts of automatic gunfire.
The state governor, Delfina Gómez, condemned the violence and assured locals that improving security conditions was among her top priorities. She stated, “These events do not paralyze us, on the contrary, they reaffirm our determination to improve security conditions in our beloved state, rest assured that we will continue working so that events like this are not repeated.”
Authorities confirmed that 10 of the individuals killed were members of the criminal gang, while four were villagers. Police did not identify the specific gang involved in the clash, but noted the presence of the Familia Michoacana drug cartel in the area for many years.
The incident has sparked political debate, with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador attributing the violence to drug consumption and neglect by his predecessors. Presidential hopeful Xóchitl Gálvez, who is running against López Obrador’s party, blamed the violence on the president’s “hugs not bullets” security strategy, alleging that it leaves rural Mexicans abandoned.
The Familia Michoacana is known for its brazen ambushes of police as well as a 2022 massacre of 20 townspeople in the town of Totolapan in neighboring Guerrero state, which resulted in the deaths of the town’s mayor, his father, and 18 other men. The clash in Texcaltitlan is a grim reminder of the ongoing violence and intimidation perpetuated by drug cartels in Mexico.