Violence Erupts in State of Jalisco as Military Launches Attack on Cartel Al Jazeera
go to original May 2, 2015

New Generation Jalisco Drug Cartel Continues Spread Through Mexico (CCTV)

Violence in the western Mexican state of Jalisco on Friday killed at least seven after the military launched an operation targeting a drug cartel.

Jalisco Gov. Aristóteles Sandoval said that the violence was a reaction to the federal government's Operation Jalisco, "an operation to get to the bottom of and to be able to arrest all the leaders of this cartel, of this organization."

Sandoval did not name the cartel, but authorities have been locked in an increasingly bloody battle with the Jalisco New Generation cartel. Last month, cartel gunmen killed 15 state police officers in an ambush. It was the bloodiest single attack on Mexican authorities in recent memory.

Jalisco State spokesman Gonzalo Sánchez told Mexican cable news channel Milenio TV that a police officer was killed in one of the clashes around the state in the community of Autlán, about 120 miles southwest of Guadalajara.

Gunmen fired at a military helicopter, forcing it to make an emergency landing about 150 miles southwest of Guadalajara, the state capital. Three soldiers were killed in the attack.

Twelve others — 10 soldiers and two federal police officers — were also injured and three soldiers remained missing, according to a statement from Mexico's defense ministry.

Sandoval declined to reveal the identities of the seven victims. He counted 29 blockades around the state affecting 19 municipalities. He said 11 banks and five gas stations had been attacked and the state remained under a "code red" protocol. Videos circulating on social media showed unidentified men lighting businesses on fire in broad daylight.

Fifteen people had been arrested and there were four armed confrontations, Sandoval said.

Read the rest at Al Jazeera

Related: Mexico Drug War: New Generation Cartel Attacks in Jalisco (Mexico Voices)

We invite you to add your charity or supporting organizations' news stories and coming events to PVAngels so we can share them with the world. Do it now!