• Gunmen attacked a military unit in southwest Mexico on Friday.
• The attackers were likely members of La Familia Michoacana.
• The violence has caused more than 350,000 people to die since 2006.

Gunmen assaulted a military unit in southwest Mexico on Friday, killing at least five suspected criminals and two soldiers in a shootout, according to authorities on Saturday.

The altercation took place on Friday afternoon in the town of El Pescado, which is located in the difficult-to-access mountainous region of Guerrero and is frequently the site of clashes between criminal organizations.

According to an army account, a shootout ensued as a group of 18 armed citizens traveling in two vehicles attacked a military unit.

Two persons were shot, killing two soldiers and five armed attackers.

The attackers were presumably members of La Familia Michoacana, one of Mexico’s most prominent drug cartels that saw a significant decline in power with the detention of its leaders, according to local authorities.

The cartel has been reorganizing while taking part in numerous violent acts.

The criminal organization Los Tequileros is allegedly competing with La Familia Michoacana for dominance in the region where they conduct kidnapping, extortion, and drug trafficking.

One of the poorest states in Mexico, Guerrero, has experienced years of unrest brought on by drug cartel turf conflicts for the control of marijuana and opium cultivation and drug trafficking.

According to official statistics, since the government sent the army to fight the drug cartels in 2006, more than 350,000 people have died across Mexico in a wave of violence.

[embedpost slug = “/andres-manuel-lopez-says-mexico-is-safer-than-united-states/”]