Drug cartels clash in Guerrero, 9 found dead

Nine men allegedly linked to organized crime were shot dead in southern Mexico during a confrontation with other armed civilians, state authorities said, as the country grapples with a wave of violence.

The bodies were found Wednesday night in the remote village of Zitlala , according to the prosecutor’s office in the state of Guerrero , one of the country’s poorest and hardest-hit by Mexico’s long-running drug war .

On late Wednesday, the office said that the deceased were believed to be associated with Zenen Nava Sánchez “El Chaparro,” leader of the “Rojos,” one of the criminal gangs operating in the state. Casings from AK-47 and AR-15 rifles were found nearby.

According to authorities, Zitlala is part of the territory for which criminal organizations “Los Rojos” and “Los Ardillos” have been fighting for over six years.

Zitlala is less than 20 minutes away from Chilapa , where these two organizations have centered their dispute.

During the last six years, the clash between “Los Rojos” and “Los Ardillos” has left over a thousand murders in Chilapa and other neighboring municipalities, as well as over 300 disappeared persons .

In recent weeks, Mexico has been shaken especially hard by several outbursts of violence linked to organized crime .

Last week, the bungled arrest of Ovidio Guzmán , one of the sons of jailed drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán , sparked an hours-long siege of the city of Culiacán, the capital of northern Sinaloa state, punctuated by blockades and running firefights pitting outmatched security forces against a small army of Sinaloa Cartel gunmen.

Other incidents of gangland violence played out earlier this month in the town of Tepochica in Guerrero , where 15 mostly civilian victims were gunned down, and western Michoacán state, where 13 police offers were ambushed and killed by suspected gunmen with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.

The spasms of violence have sparked sharp criticism of the security strategy of leftist President Andrés Manuel López Obrador , who took office late last year promising to pacify the country.

López Obrador has argued that violence will only beget more violence and has instead doubled down on a strategy that focuses on attacking the root causes of crime, including poverty, lack of jobs and educational opportunities for youth .

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