Mexico: descent into chaosMexican army kills 15 drug gang members
Suspected drug hit men attacked soldiers who intended to inspect a drug cartel safe house in the colonial town of Taxco southwest of Mexico City; soldiers returned fire, killing the assailants in a 40-minute gunfight; more than 23,000 people have been killed in drug violence since President Felipe Calderon launched his crackdown on the multibillion-dollar drug trade upon taking office in 2006
Fifteen suspected drug gang members were killed in a shootout with Mexican soldiers on Tuesday in western Mexico in the latest fatal clash between warring cartels and federal forces. Suspected drug hit men attacked soldiers who intended to inspect a cartel safe house in the colonial town of Taxco southwest of Mexico City. Soldiers returned fire, killing the assailants in a 40-minute gunfight, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Global Post reports that the clash followed an ambush by gunmen on a federal police convoy in the western state of Michoacan on Monday that killed ten officers.
More than 23,000 people have been killed in drug violence since President Felipe Calderon launched his crackdown on the multibillion-dollar drug trade upon taking office in 2006.
Once quiet areas of Mexico are being ravaged by drug violence. At least fifty-five bodies have been discovered since May in an abandoned mine in Taxco in Guerrero state. The town is popular with U.S. tourists for its silver crafts and religious festivals but lies on a smuggling route up from the Pacific port of Acapulco.
Mexico’s most wanted man, Joaquin “Shorty” Guzman, is fighting rival traffickers across the country for control of lucrative smuggling routes into the United States. He is also taking on the police and the army.
The violence is a major concern for Washington, which is sending anti-drug aid and equipment to Mexico. The killings are forcing some investors to freeze investment in Mexican factories on the U.S. border and scaring off some tourists from beach resorts.
