State Police Officers Kill 5 Gunmen During Shootout in Iguala, Guerrero

"Morogris" for Borderland Beat

At least five young men died during a shootout with the Guerrero State Police in the city of Iguala, reported the State Public Security Secretariat (SSP).

The official report indicated that on Saturday afternoon, at around 2:00 p.m., the police were traveling in two official patrol cars when they “heard” shots in the vicinity of the Iguala-Cuernavaca federal highway, at the height of the toll booth.

Immediately, the state police detected a black Jetta in Villas del Rey neighborhood that manned by five young men. They shot at the police officers and a vehicle persecution quickly ensued. The chase culminated on the federal highway near the headquarters of the Judicial Power.

The gunmen's case was left across the road and the bodies of the five men were scattered on the street, as shown on pictures circulating on social media.

The SSP issued a statement that said that the assailants were armed and had shot at the police officers first, and that no police officer was wounded.

The city of Iguala and its surrounding areas has been an uptick in violence with the turf war between the criminal groups La Bandera and Los Tlacos.

Sources disagree on what La Bandera is; some say it is the new name of Guerreros Unidos while others say it is a faction of the umbrella organization. Reports say that the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) is working with Guerreros Unidos and its remnant groups. 

Sources: Proceso; Quadratin (Guerrero); Noticieros Televisa; Infobae