OAN’s Abril Elfi
8:45 AM – Monday, December 11, 2023
Fourteen people were killed in a clash between members of a violent drug cartel and a small farming community in central Mexico.
Authorities stated on Saturday that 14 people died, including the drug cartel’s leader, and seven others were injured in a shootout between the cartel and farmers from a small town in Mexico.
Footage from the fight on Friday was shared on social media, showing villagers donning cowboy hats, hunting rifles, sickles, and pursuing alleged gang members amidst automatic gunfire bursts.
The massacre, according to police in the State of Mexico, took place in the hamlet of Texcaltitlan, some 80 miles southwest of the capital.
Ten members of the violent Familia Michoacana drug cartel, including its leader Rigoberto de la Sancha Santillán, also referred to as “El Payaso” or “The Clown,” were among the dead, according to officials. There were four other villager victims killed.
According to the local media, Familia Michoacana gunmen had earlier entered the village and demanded that the farmers there pay an extortion fee calculated per acre.
Mexico’s drug cartels have a history of extorting money from virtually any kind of business, whether legal or illegal. In some cases, they have even been known to attack or set fire to stores, farms, or ranches that refuse to pay.
Mexico State Gov. Delfina Gómez condemned the violence going on and assured locals that maintaining order was her top priority.
“These events do not paralyze us, on the contrary, they reaffirm our determination to improve security conditions in our beloved state, rest assured that we will continue working so that events like this are not repeated,” she said in a press conference on Saturday. “You are not alone, we are with you.”
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