New Confrontation in Tepalcatepec, Michoacán

Yaqui for Borderland Beat from: Infobae

On Sunday night a new confrontation was reported in the vicinity of the municipality of Tepalcatepec , in the Mexican state of Michoacán, so that the inhabitants activated their security protocol, which meant that no one could enter or leave the town.

According to the villagers, the shooting began around 10:30 p.m. at the entrances to the town and lasted around 30 minutes . So far, the authorities have not reported whether the confrontation left dead or injured.

According to the Community Police of the municipality, it was a new attack by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel . While the Secretary of Public Security of the state only limited itself to informing that several elements of the State Police and the Secretariat of National Defense have already been deployed.

As safety measure, school sites at all levels suspended their activities, while bus lines interrupted their runs.

This new attack was recorded despite the fact that elements of the Jalisco Police, the Michoacán Police and the Tepalcatepec Municipal Police armored the border between Jalisco and Michoacán, after the attack of the New Generation Cartel that occurred last Friday.

According to Milenio , this weekend there were at least 12 homicides in Michoacán .

Five of the victims were found on a farm in the Presa de los Reyes neighborhood, in Morelia; while in the municipality of Lázaro Cárdenas an armed group attacked six people, four of whom died.

In Sahuayo, members of the Jalisco cartel ambushed police, killing a uniformed man and five more injured. In Tepalcatepec and Coeneo, the authorities reported a homicide in each municipality.

The SSPC reported that the federal government and the state of Michoacán are in total coordination. On the same day of the confrontation they deployed elements of the National Guard, of the National Defense, State Public Security, of the State Attorney General's Office and municipal authorities, who have been conducting patrols in different parts of the municipality.

After the clashes that took place last Friday in Tepalcatepec, Michoacán, between the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel (CJNG) and members of the armed group of Juan José Farías Álvarez, alias, "El Abuelo" , a video showing the minutes after the shootings.

Note: See Chivis's Post of the Drone Video on Aug 31st.

José Manuel Mireles, a doctor and former leader of the self-defense groups in Michoacán, lamented the violent events in the municipality where he originated and which he defended from the Templar Knights cartel from 2013 to 2014, when he was arrested for violating the Law Federal Firearms and Explosives of Mexico. "I trust that the arrival of the National Guard in our territory will restore peace and tranquility to our community," he wrote on Twitter.

The confrontation on Friday began around 7:30 in the morning, when allegedly members of the CJNG went to capture "El Abuelo" and his allies , realizing his threat made on August 13. In videos spread on social networks vehicles with artisanal armor are seen patrolling the streets in search of Farías Álvarez.

The population of Michoacán has for years lived in the middle of bloody battles between drug cartels that dispute the power of the region, among which are the Michoacan Family, the Knights Templar and the CJNG. Some areas of the state are part of the area known as  Tierra Caliente , ie the hot land.