New Massacre in Mexico: 11 Dead, 5 Hurt by Gunfire in Guanajuato State Plagued by Mexican Drug Cartels

At least 11 people were killed, and five others were wounded in a "massacre" in Mexico's Guanajuato state plagued by Mexican drug cartels.

According to El Universal, several shooting incidents happened in the neighborhood of Lindavista in Celaya, Guanajuato on Monday night.

Reports said the shooting started at around 10 p.m. when a group of 15 armed men arrived in two trucks and attacked a bar in Azalea Street on the corner of Fresno.

The gunmen then entered the "Gala" hotel and the bar next to it, where they fired multiple times. Before fleeing the scene, the suspects reportedly set the venues on fire using Molotov cocktails.

Cops and emergency personnel reportedly rushed to the scene after locals said more than 30 gunshots were heard. According to a preliminary report, at least four of these fatalities were men, and the rest were women.

Police said at least five people were being treated with gunshot wounds and burns. Witnesses who managed to escape by hiding in the hotel noted that the attack only lasted a minute.

The massacre was being attributed to an organized crime group operating in Guanajuato. According to The Sun, authorities found plastic bags containing three dismembered bodies with a threatening note from an organized crime group early Monday morning.

The state is reportedly the territory of some Mexican drug cartels. However, it was still unclear who was behind the attack.

Killings in Guanajuato, Mexico

Rose Icela Rodriguez, the secretary of Security and Citizen Protection, said homicide figures in Mexico's state of Guanajuato in April dropped to 21.45 percent compared to the previous month, according to Periodico Correo.

Rodriguez noted that April was the lowest month for homicide cases in the state for five years. From March to April, Guanajuato reportedly went from 289 homicides to 227, which was 21.45 percent less.

The report also showed an average of eight attacks a day in Guanajuato. But despite the dropped in the numbers, Mexico News Daily reported that Guanajuato was still the second most violent state in the first four months of the year, with 993 murders. Michoacan was the first with 1,000 homicides.

México state came third with 830 homicides, followed by Baja California with 805, Jalisco with 642, and Sonora with 580.

Nationwide, Icela Rodríguez noted that there were 9,895 homicides in Mexico between January and April, which is 1,392 fewer or 12.3 percent less than in the same period of 2021.

Mexican Drug Cartels in Mexico's Guanajuato State

The number of violent crimes in Guanajuato state continues to rise as Mexican drug cartels fight over territory.

The Jalisco cartel has reportedly been fighting to take over territory in Guanajuato from local drug gangs. According to Border Report, the state is the scene of a bloody turf war between the Jalisco cartel and the home-grown Santa Rosa de Lima gang.

The bloodbath in the state reportedly started in 2018 when the Jalisco New Generation Cartel or Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG) moved into Guanajuato. The Jalisco cartel is infamous for its public displays of violence and military power.

According to the U.S. State Department, the Jalisco cartel is considered "to be the most violent drug trafficking organization currently operating in Mexico, with the highest cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine trafficking capacity."

Nemesio "El Mencho" Oseguera is currently leading the Jalisco cartel. The U.S. government has offered a $10 million reward for information leading to his arrest as he continues to evade capture.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Joshua Summers

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