Gang members shoot down chopper in W Mexico, kill four
Members of a criminal gang in Mexico have brought down a helicopter in the country’s troubled west, killing the pilot and three officers, officials say.
The “official” aircraft was backing an operation to detain “leaders of criminal cells” in the vicinity of the restive city of Apatzingan, located in the Tierra Caliente Valley in the western state of Michoacan, on Tuesday when it was “downed” in an area with rough terrain, said Governor Silvano Aureoles on Twitter.
“We lament the death of the pilot, three police officers and a police officer who was injured,” Aureoles further said, adding that at the time, it was not clear which gang was responsible for the deadly attack and how the chopper was downed.
The area has been beset by the activities of violent drug cartels. It has also been the scene of fights between the Mexican army and pro-government vigilante groups on the one side and criminal gangs on the other for years.
“In accordance with the responsibility to protect citizens, the state and federation won’t give up in the frontal fight against crime,” Aureoles, the Mexican governor, added.
It is the second time gangs have shot down a helicopter in Mexico. Back in early May 2015, members of the Jalisco New Generation cartel in the neighboring state of Jalisco brought down a military chopper with a rocket launcher, killing nearly 10 soldiers.
Michoacan, which has bedeviled the Mexican government for years, has not only been a hotbed for drug cartels, particularly the Knights Templar cartel, but has also had one of the highest murder rates in the country during the past few years.
Official figures show that more than 35,000 people are currently missing in the country due to drug-related violence, which has also claimed thousands of lives over the past few years.
Police corruption, drug cartels and organized crime are the greatest challenges facing Mexico.
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