A shootout between warring drug cartels claimed 29
lives and left four injured in the western part of the country, Nayarit
state security officials confirmed on Thursday.
The shootout occurred on Wednesday afternoon in the Pacific coast
state of Nayarit along the highway connecting Guadalajara with
Mazatlan. Local media reported the shootout was provoked by an
abduction earlier in the day.
Two of the injured victims were identified as not being involved in
criminal activities, state officials said. Soldiers responding to the
incident found weapons, grenades, military-style uniforms and two
bulletproof vehicles, media reported.
State attorney general Oscar Herrera told a Mexico City radio
station on Thursday that members of the rivals Sinaloa Cartel and Los
Zetas were involved in the gun battle.
The incident in Nayarit state was just one of several violent events
occurred this week in Mexico, where a government crackdown on drug
cartels and organized crime has claimed more than 35,000 lives over the
past four and a half years.
In the state of Michoacan, to the south of Nayarit, state officials
said that eight villages were evacuated due to shootouts between rival
drug cartels. Xinhua
