Apache Helicopter Guns Down Drug Cartel Members in Nayarit Capital of Tepic The Associated Press
go to original February 10, 2017

Helicopter gunship fires down on members of the Beltrán Leyva catel in Nayarit (El Heraldo de Chihuahua)

An alleged regional leader of the Beltran Leyva drug cartel and 12 accomplices have been killed in a clash with Mexican marines who poured gunfire into a house from a helicopter-mounted machine gun.

The federal Interior Department said via Twitter that Juan Francisco Patron Sanchez headed the cartel's operations in the Pacific coast state of Nayarit and in the southern part of Jalisco state. The Navy official identified the dead capo by the criminal nickname "H2."

A Mexican Navy official who was not authorized to be quoted by name said Friday that Patron's group had opened fire on marines and had barricaded themselves in the upper part of a house in the Nayarit state capital of Tepic.

The official said that a helicopter gunship had been called in to provide "dissuasive fire," to suppress outgoing gunfire from the structure on Thursday.

Use of such "minigun" weapons from a helicopter gunship is extremely rare in urban areas. They apparently have been used before by Mexican police, but usually only in rural areas.

The Navy said the helicopter gunship was used in accordance with its rules of engagement, "with the aim of reducing the level of aggression and reducing the risk of civilian or federal casualties."

Read the rest at McClatchyDC

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