MEXICO CITY – Suspected cartel hitmen shot dead more than a dozen police in an ambush in the western Mexican state of Michoacan, authorities said on Tuesday, in one of the bloodiest attacks on security forces since President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador took office.
The ministry for public security said the attack was carried out in the municipality of Aguililla in Michoacan, a state that has long been convulsed by turf wars between drug gangs, notably the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and its enemies.
The federal public security ministry said 14 police were killed, though its Michoacan state counterpart reported that 13 officers were confirmed dead and three injured. Photos of the crime scene published on social media showed shot-up and burning police vehicles, as well as the bodies of slain officers.
They also showed large placards signed by “CJNG” left on police vehicles. They warned police not to support rival crime groups, including Los Viagras.
The ambush was an attack on the police by local gangsters, said a state official, who requested anonymity. The official confirmed the authenticity of the photos.
The Michoacan security ministry said on Twitter the state police were working near El Aguaje, north of the town of Aguililla, when they came under fire.–Agencies
