Mexican Officials Say They Have Regained Control of Jalisco State Jose de Cordoba - WSJ.com
go to original May 2, 2015

A bank branch in Puerto Vallarta was one of several burned in violence across Mexico’s Jalisco state on Friday. Officials on Saturday said they had regained control of the state. (Moisés Madariaga/Agence France-Presse)

Officials said Saturday they had regained control of Jalisco state a day after an increasingly powerful and violent regional drug cartel shot down a Mexican army helicopter, killing three soldiers, and used burning cars and buses to block major roads across the state.

The Jalisco Attorney General’s office said the state was “calm” in a message posted on its official Twitter account. “We are reinforcing our patrols and vigilance,” the message said.

The U.S. consulate in the state capital of Guadalajara said in a statement the Mexican government reported that the situation in Jalisco “was under control.” But the consulate said clashes between criminal organizations and Mexican authorities could continue. It advised U.S. citizens to “remain vigilant and monitor local media reports.” Many Americans retirees live in Lake Chapala, a few miles from Guadalajara.

On Friday, Jalisco state and Guadalajara, an important manufacturing center and Mexico’s second most-populated metropolitan area, were shaken by a wave of violence as suspected members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel went on a statewide rampage. Suspected gang members burned cars and buses, blocked highways and roads, set gas stations and banks on fire, and shot down an army helicopter, killing three soldiers, officials said.

The latest outbreak of cartel violence in Jalisco, known for its tequila and as the birthplace of Mexico’s strolling mariachi musicians, is a direct challenge to the government, which despite recent success in capturing leaders of major drug cartels, hasn’t at times been able to control the violent power struggles unleashed afterward.

Suspected gang members blocked roads in 39 places across the state, including the capital of Guadalajara and the resort city of Puerto Vallarta, by hijacking cars and buses and setting them afire, Jalisco Gov. Aristóteles Sandoval said in a press briefing. Eleven bank branch offices and five gasoline stations, some in Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta, were also set on fire, officials said.

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Related: Mexico Seeks Missing Troops After Chopper Downed (NewsMax)

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