Translated by Yaqui for Borderland Beat from El Debate
July 1, 2017
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| Midnight in Mexico |
WARNING: Extremely Graphic Photos and Video on second page
Extra material from La JornadaJuly 1, 2017
The last night of June and the first night of July began with an attempted and successful kidnapping but ended with a fierce confrontation between Sinaloan Authorities and armed gunmen equipped with tactical gear and high caliber weapons. Nineteen suspected criminals were killed in the confrontation with Mazatlan Municipal Police, Sinaloa State Police and members of the Mexican Army and Navy. Five uniformed men were wounded.
Cristobal Castaneda Camarillo, the State's Security spokesman says that the confrontation began around eight pm near the communities of La Amapa and Villa Union at the Junction of Mexican Federal Highway #5 and the road to Aguaje de Costilla. Municipal police officers led by Mazatlan's Public Security Secretary, Joel Soto, were attacked by the 19 individuals moving in four trucks approximately 22 kilometers south of the port city. Camarillo made an official statement around Midnight.
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The armed group arrived at Villa Union to kidnap a man known as "El Llagas". Two men came out to try to defend him and were immediately executed. According to neighboring witnesses the criminals did successfully kidnap "El Llagas". About 8:15 a black van arrived at a house in the Lopez Portillo neighborhood of Villa Union. The assassins noticed a third man inside the house and henceforth entered the kitchen and executed him, repeatedly shooting him. They then made off with ''El Llagas''.
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Concerned citizens of the neighborhood who became alarmed by the sound of gunfire erupting in the night notified the nearest Municipal authorities just a few blocks away. As police units patrolled the area the armed group fled toward La Amapa and the persecution by authorities began. Back up units of the State Police and Army and Navy Patrols joined in and at the junction of Mexico #5 and the Road to Aguaje de Costilla, about 8 kilometers away, is where the authorities and criminals clashed for nearly an hour.
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19 of the suspects were killed in the fierce gunfight; five policemen wounded and /or injured, two reportedly seriously, including one woman. Red Cross Paramedics came to offer first aid and transport the wounded to several Mazatlan medical institutions. Two criminals were taken into custody; Jhonathan Ulises "N"and Jose Lourdes "N". The whereabouts of the remaining suspects and the kidnapped man are unknown at this time.
Three vehicles were secured after the confrontation and another in La Amapa. Twelve AK-47s, two Ar 15s , one shotgun and seven pistols were also recovered by the Authorities. These were the numbers according to the official bulletin.
Just a few hours after the bloody gun battle an unidentified lifeless body of a man was found half buried in a vacant lot under a tree by a neighbor who had gone there to cut wood and he notified authorities. It is unknown at this time if the discovery is related.
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The Mazatlan City Council has already met to discuss the "Villa Union massacre" that has shocked all of Sinaloa. City Council Secretary Jose Joel Boucieguez says: "the the heads of the state's government will take all necessary measures to restore security in the region and make Mazatlan an exemplary municipality for development and tourism at the national level.
The armed group arrived at Villa Union to kidnap a man known as "El Llagas". Two men came out to try to defend him and were immediately executed. According to neighboring witnesses the criminals did successfully kidnap "El Llagas". About 8:15 a black van arrived at a house in the Lopez Portillo neighborhood of Villa Union. The assassins noticed a third man inside the house and henceforth entered the kitchen and executed him, repeatedly shooting him. They then made off with ''El Llagas''.
Concerned citizens of the neighborhood who became alarmed by the sound of gunfire erupting in the night notified the nearest Municipal authorities just a few blocks away. As police units patrolled the area the armed group fled toward La Amapa and the persecution by authorities began. Back up units of the State Police and Army and Navy Patrols joined in and at the junction of Mexico #5 and the Road to Aguaje de Costilla, about 8 kilometers away, is where the authorities and criminals clashed for nearly an hour.
19 of the suspects were killed in the fierce gunfight; five policemen wounded and /or injured, two reportedly seriously, including one woman. Red Cross Paramedics came to offer first aid and transport the wounded to several Mazatlan medical institutions. Two criminals were taken into custody; Jhonathan Ulises "N"and Jose Lourdes "N". The whereabouts of the remaining suspects and the kidnapped man are unknown at this time.
Three vehicles were secured after the confrontation and another in La Amapa. Twelve AK-47s, two Ar 15s , one shotgun and seven pistols were also recovered by the Authorities. These were the numbers according to the official bulletin.
Just a few hours after the bloody gun battle an unidentified lifeless body of a man was found half buried in a vacant lot under a tree by a neighbor who had gone there to cut wood and he notified authorities. It is unknown at this time if the discovery is related.
