Villanueva, Zacatecas: Clash Between Armed Groups Leaves Eight Dead

"Sol Prendido" for Borderland Beat

The confrontation took place in the rural community Colonia Emiliano Zapata, all the victims are men, only one has been identified.

Shootout between alleged members of organized crime in Zacatecas

Different police forces in Zacatecas mobilized this Friday following a report from residents near a mountainous region between the municipalities of Villanueva and Tepetongo, who reported the gunfire of large caliber firearms in an unpopulated area.

The shooting was presumably carried out by armed civilians, members of two antagonistic criminal organizations, who met on the dirt roads in this area, used for months for the transfer of drugs and other illicit activities.

The scene of the armed confrontation was the Emiliano Zapata community in the municipality of Villanueva, where eight people were killed, the Zacatecas Public Prosecutor's Office confirmed in a communiqué; all the victims were male and were left lying on the public road in the rural community.

Forensic agents from the State Attorney General's Office processed the scene and transferred the bodies to the Institute of Forensic Sciences in the capital, along with ballistic evidence of different calibers for firearms, as well as clothing and tactical equipment abandoned at the scene.

So far, only one of the victims has been identified and his body has already been handed over to his relatives. The identity of the other seven people killed during the confrontation is unknown.

The region was placed under special surveillance by state and federal authorities to prevent the circulation of armed men and avoid new confrontations. Just this Thursday, an anti-blockade operation was implemented to prevent armed civilians from attacking the population, after a caravan of armed men was detected circulating on federal highway 23.

Colonia Emiliano Zapata, Zacatecas

Villanueva, Zacatecas

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