The attorney general’s office said the “lifeless bodies” of 16 men and three women were found at the scene, all with gunshot wounds. He later reported that one additional person had died on the way to the hospital, while five others were being treated for injuries. The staff of this Public Security Secretariat conducts guided tours in coordination with @SEDENAmx and @GN_MEXICO_ with the aim of apprehending those responsible for the violent acts recorded at a secret Palenque in Zinapécuaro, where several people are injured and dead. pic.twitter.com/ZelGgA3ZNL – SSP MICHOACAN (@SSeguridad_Mich) March 28, 2022 Federal authorities are working “to arrest those responsible for the violence,” said the office of Mizoakan’s public security secretary. Authorities did not comment on the shooting. But Michoac .n and neighboring Guanajuato are two of Mexico’s most violent states because of rival wars between drug gangs and other illegal activities – including the theft of fuel. Earlier this month, gunmen killed the mayor of a town in Michoac .n. Aguililla Mayor Cesar Valencia was shot dead by unknown assailants as he was traveling in a town hall vehicle near a football stadium in the city, officials said. Michoacan is also the world’s largest avocado-growing region, and threats against a U.S. inspector who worked there last month prompted the United States to suspend fruit exports from Mexico for more than a week. Last month, an armed attack in the state believed to be the result of a gang dispute was reported to have killed up to 17 people after a clash. The attack is believed to have been prompted by “revenge” by one core of the Jalisco Young Generation Cartel against another, said Deputy Security Minister Ricardo Mejia. The government said it was unable to confirm the death toll because no bodies were found, although DNA samples were collected from 11 possible victims at the scene. The Department of Justice considers the Jalisco cartel to be “one of the five most dangerous transnational criminal organizations in the world.” Mexico has been embroiled in a cartel-related spiral of violence since 2006, when the government launched a controversial anti-drug operation with federal troops. More than 340,000 murders have taken place since then, most of them attributed to quarrels between criminals, according to official figures. Earlier this month, gunmen killed nine people in a home attack in central Mexico in an “execution” of six men and three women that rocked a middle-class area of the generally peaceful city of Atlixco. Puebla Governor Miguel Barbosa said the attack took place at “a drug dealership” and that the identities of the victims were unknown.
