Mexican Marines bag five, detain four in firefight in Veracruz

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

A total of ten individuals including five municipal police officers have been killed in two separate gun fights in Veracruz state Tuesday according to Mexican news accounts.

According to an article posted on the website of ElPueblo.mx news daily, five unidentified armed suspects were killed after they fired on a Mexican naval infantry convoy near Xalapa, the capitol of Veracruz state.  An additional four suspects were also detained following the end of the firefight.

The marine unit was on patrol, between Xalapa and San Andres Tlalnehuayocan municipalities on Prolongacion Diamante in Unidad y Progres colony, when it came under small arms fire. 

Undisclosed quantities of weapons and vehicles were also seized by the marines.

In a remote mountain location in Veracruz state, several municipal police agents were ambushed and  five were killed by armed suspects in Ixhuatlan Madero municipality, according to a Notimex dispatch posted on the website of Aztecas Noticias news website.

The police group was travelling along a stretch of road between Onatal Azteca and Otatitlan when it came under small arms fire.

The article said the the attack was repelled, presumably meaning that several municipal police agents were involved in the ambush, but the article does not elaborate how many.  The report does not note any casualties of the attackers.

An operation is currently underway to locate the armed suspects responsible for the attack.

Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com

Categories: SEMAR, shootouts, veracruz