Mexico arrests 17 alleged hitmen linked to attack on military personnel in Michoacán
Initial reports on the case indicate that these individuals are allegedly members of the Cartel de los Reyes. Twelve of those detained are of Colombian origin.
File image of the Mexican police.
Agents of Mexico's National Defense Secretariat arrested 17 people allegedly linked to the attack on military personnel in which six died last week in an area bordering the states of Michoacan and Jalisco.
Of those arrested, 12 are of Colombian origin, according to Infobae.
All were transferred to the facilities of the Attorney General's Office (FGR) Morelia delegation, where they will be investigated for their probable responsibility in the placement of the explosive devices that caused the death of the Mexican troops, said the Defense office.
Cartel de los Reyes, another criminal organization
According to the information, the arrest took place in a house used as a "safe house," where firearms, cartridges, magazines, two vehicles that were reported stolen and explosive material were also seized.
Initial reports on the case indicate that these individuals were members of the Cartel de los Reyes, an organization led by Alfonso Fernández Magallón, alias "Poncho La Quiringüa," and Luis Enrique Barragán Chávez "El Güicho."
Explosive attack on Mexican military
Six members of the Mexican Army lost their lives and two more were injured after a landmine exploded on a rural road in the town of El Santuario, Michoacán on May 27.
The incident occurred while the military was patrolling the area aboard an armored tactical vehicle, in an area where organized crime groups linked to drug trafficking allegedly operate.
The technical report determined that the landmine that detonated was homemade. The explosion completely destroyed the SandCat type military vehicle, causing the immediate death of two agents belonging to the Special Reaction and Intervention Force (FERI) and four members of the Emergency Response Group (GRE), both units assigned to the Army and the National Guard.
In addition, two members of the ERG were seriously injured.
The Mexican Army stated that the mine was placed by organized crime groups operating in the region.
The Los Reyes Cartel vs. the Jalisco Cartel - New Generation (CJNG)
Currently, the Los Reyes cartel maintains a criminal alliance with the Tepalcatepec cartel (based in the Michoacan municipality of Tepalcatepec), which is headed by drug trafficker Juan Jose Farias Alvarez "Abuelo Farias," also identified as the founder of the civilian Self-Defense Groups.
Meanwhile, the Jalisco Cartel - New Generation (CJNG) is part of a criminal bloc that in Michoacan includes the Michoacan cartels of Los Viagras, Los Blancos de Troya and the Acahuato Cartel, which are also splinter groups of the Self-Defense Groups.
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