The number 43 is getting to be a dreaded figure in Mexican news.

The country is still reeling from the 43 students from a rural teachers college that went missing in Guerrero last September. And on Friday, at least 43 people died during a three-hour long gun battle between federal forces and suspected drug gang gunmen on a ranch located in western Mexico.

Unlike the slayings last September, the dead in this latest massacre are all -- save one federal police officer -- suspected criminals.

As reported by The Associated Press, National Security Commissioner Monte Alejandro Rubido said the suspects were members of "a criminal organization operating in Jalisco state."

Rubido explained the deadly confrontation began on Friday morning in the municipality of Tanhauto when soldiers, federal police and state and federal investigators responded to a report of a sudden appearance of armed men on a ranch.

According to Rubido, in the course of the operation, federal forces came across a truck of armed men who opened fire. Although Rubido did not specifically name the Jalisco New Generation, they are the drug cartel that currently controls the area and have recently proven themselves to be one of Mexico's largest crime organizations.

Recently the Jalisco New Generation has been responsible for several major attacks on federal and state forces. Last month gunmen who are linked to the cartel ambushed a police convoy in Jalisco and ended up killing 15 state officers and wounding five. This month gunmen from the group shot down a military helicopter with a rocket launcher in Jalisco, killing eight people in the process.

As the Guardian notes, the New Generation Jalisco Cartel is considered especially bold as they have gone to serious lengths to attack authorities when most Mexican cartels reserve their firepower for rival cartels.