Cartel Violence against Police
13 law enforcement officers were killed in Mexico, allegedly by gang members, in the country’s largest single killing of law enforcement since October 2019 when 14 state police officers were killed in a neighboring state. The killings happened in the Llano Grande Area of Coatepec Harinas in Mexico State on March 18. The gunman is thought to be from a drug gang although no group has been identified yet.
A police convoy was patrolling the area in broad daylight on March 18, when they were attacked and gunned down. The attackers left a gruesome crime scene with the bodies of the dead officers abandoned by their bullet-riddled police vehicles. It has been reported that of the murdered officers, 8 were state police and 5 were police assigned to the state prosecutor’s office. These officers were patrolling the area for criminal groups and gang presence.
This event happened in a rural mountainous area southwest of Mexico City. This area has known gang activity from at least 26 criminal groups with some of the most prevalent being the La Familia Michoacana, which is thought to be in control of the territory, as well as the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Guerreros Unidos gang, and Acelia gang.
The secretary of security for the state of Mexico, Rodrigo Martínez-Celis, said this following the event: “This attack is an affront to the Mexican state. We will respond with all force and support of the law.”
After the event Mexico’s Natural Guard militarized police and armed forces were deployed to search for the attackers; although, it is unknown if there were any casualties for the perpetrators.
Over 520 Mexican police officers were killed in 2020 according to Causa en Común. This comes after President Andrés Manuel López Obrador ran on a no-war and limited confrontation approach to addressing the country’s drug gang violence.
AK Wilson – Freelance journalist specializing in Mexican politics, energy, environmental, and water conflict based out of the United States
