This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-23429583
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
Clashes in Mexico's Michoacan state leave 22 dead | Clashes in Mexico's Michoacan state leave 22 dead |
(about 2 hours later) | |
At least 20 armed gang members have died in clashes with police in Mexico's western Michoacan state, officials say. | |
Two police officers were also killed in shootouts that started after gang members blocked roads with vehicles and ambushed police patrols. | Two police officers were also killed in shootouts that started after gang members blocked roads with vehicles and ambushed police patrols. |
The attacks came a day after members of the Knights Templar drug gang shot dead five demonstrators protesting against the cartel's violent tactics. | |
Michoacan has seen a steep rise in violence in recent months. | |
In May, President Enrique Pena Nieto sent in a general to take over police and military operations in the western state. | |
Self-defence vigilante groups have formed in several towns in the region vowing to fight the violence, kidnappings and extortion carried out by drug cartels. | |
Stranglehold | |
Hundreds of people demonstrated in the town of Los Reyes on Monday, holding up placards opposing the Knights Templar drug gang and the extortion rackets it runs in the area. | |
Armed men believed to belong to the cartel opened fire on the demonstrators, killing five and injuring at least eight. | |
The BBC's Will Grant in Mexico City says the Knights Templar seems to have strengthened their stranglehold on some parts of the region. | |
Our correspondent says their rise may be behind a spate of violent clashes with a rival criminal gang from the neighbouring state of Jalisco, called Nueva Generacion (New Generation), as well as constant battles with the security forces. | |
The latest clashes came after the Knights Templar blocked several roads and bridges by setting trucks on fire. | |
They then ambushed police arriving at the scene. | |
The interior ministry said 20 armed men were killed. Two police officers died in the clashes and 15 were injured. | |
Earlier this month, Mexican marines captured one of the world's most notorious drug bosses. | |
Miguel Angel Trevino Morales was the leader of the Zetas, considered the most violent of Mexico's cartels. | |
Trevino Morales is the highest-profile arrest since President Pena Nieto took office last December, promising a stricter clamp down on cartels through law enforcement at a local level. | |
Some 60,000 people have died across Mexico since 2006 when the previous government under Felipe Calderon deployed the military against the drugs gangs. | Some 60,000 people have died across Mexico since 2006 when the previous government under Felipe Calderon deployed the military against the drugs gangs. |