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By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com
A total of six individuals have been killed or were found dead in ongoing drug and gang violence in Zacatecas state, including three armed suspects who died in an encounter with a Mexican Army unit, according to Mexican news accounts.
According to a news item posted on the website of El Sol de Zacatecas, a unit with the Mexican 97th Infantry Battalion exchanged gunfire with armed suspects who were travelling aboard two vehicles Saturday morning.
The gun battle took place in a location about 20 kilometers west of Fresnillo municipality where the army unit was on patrol. The unit apparently crossed paths with the small convoy and were fired on as armed suspects attempted to flee. Mexican Army return fire killed three.
One unidentified Mexican Army soldier was wounded in the encounter.
An undisclosed number of armed suspects surrendered to the unit, and the two vehicles were seized.
Three other individuals were killed in Zacatecas state, according to news items posted on the website of El Sol de Zacatecas.
- Two woman were found dead on a road in Zacatecas municipality Wednesday. They were identified as Gloria Guadalupe Gomez Ruiz, 25, of Zacatecas municipality and Laura Ivone Rodriguez Cervantes, 22, of Guadalupe municipality. Both victims were found naked and had been tortured by a beating. They were strangled in the location they were found. Zacatecas Procuraduria General de Justicia or attorney general Arturo Nahle Garcia later dismissed speculations that the women were part of a wave of femicides in the state, suggesting that the victims were killed by local criminal gangs.
- An unidentified man was found beaten to death between Jerez and Fresnillo municipalities Saturday afternoon. The victim was found near the village of Purisima del Maguey with a message from organized crime. The content of the message was not disclosed in the news item. However, reports did say the victim was caught in an intergang struggle in the area.
Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com