Cartel Violence from Mexico’s Drug War Moves Into Mexico City Jean Luis Arce - Yahoo! News
go to original July 21, 2017

A firefighter battles a blazing truck used to block a road by cartel supporters after a shootout between gang members and the Mexican army in Mexico City (Reuters)

Update: Up to Five Killed in Mexico City Shootings on Sunday (Reuters)

Marines killed eight alleged drug traffickers in a rare Mexico City gun battle on Thursday - and presumed gang members retaliated by burning vehicles in unprecedented unrest in the country's safest city.



The troops killed the suspects, including an alleged drug lord, in a raid in the eastern Tlahuac neighborhood of the sprawling metropolis of some 21 million.

"Felipe de Jesus 'N' was head of an extremely violent criminal organization" that operated in eastern Mexico City, the navy said in a statement, referring to an alleged drug trafficker nicknamed "El Ojos" ("The Eyes").

Hundreds of police and soldiers rushed to Tlahuac in vans and armored vehicles when the shooting broke out. A military helicopter buzzed overhead, providing aerial intelligence.

However a swarm of unidentified motorcyclists and people driving motorcycle taxis sped around the nearby streets creating havoc.

Local TV aired footage of eight motorcyclists cornering a small bus and forcing the driver and passengers to exit. The assailants then set the bus on fire.

Separately, a cluster of motorcycle taxis - which witnesses said are driven by people working for crime gangs - blocked streets and clashed with police in unrest that dragged into the night.

Gun battles between security forces and criminals are common in places like the western state of Sinaloa or the northern states of Tamaulipas and Chihuahua, where drug cartels are well entrenched.

Mexico City however has been spared this sort of unrest.

Read the rest at Yahoo! News

Related: Senate: Mayor Miguel Ángel Mancera Has to Answer for Crime in Mexico City (The News)

Related: Mexico City Deploys 1,000 Cops Against Burgeoning Tlahuac Gang (Latin American Herald Tribun)

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