Terrorists murdered 20 people in San Miguel Totolaplan in Guerrero, a municipality located in the southwest Mexican state of Guerrero. Three others were also injured. The massacre also targeted Conrado Mendoza Almeda, the mayor, and his father, who was the former mayor.
Two gunmen in face coverings arrived in SUVs with two groups. They attacked the city hall and a private residence simultaneously. They disrupted a meeting between the mayor of the city and officials from the city, and then they encircled the building with bullets and killed all the participants.
Ricardo Mejia, Mexico’s assistant secretary for public safety, stated that “this act took place in the context of an ongoing dispute between criminal gangs.” This claim is often repeated by Mexican politicians, according to the BBC in 2020.
Los Tequileros claimed responsibility for the massacre. Los Tequileros is associated with the Jalisco Nueva Generacion Cartel, (JNGC), and is currently in a territorial dispute with Familia Michoacana in the region.
Mejia stated that the “Tequileros” dominated the area for a while, kidnapping and murdering, as well as smuggling and distributing opioids.
The governor of Guerrero Evelyn Salgado Pineda condemned the attack and stated that those responsible for the aggression against the mayor and officials of the local government will be held accountable.
Almeda’s leftist party issued a statement condemning the “cowardly murdered” and urging justice for its members.
La Dirección Nacional Ejecutiva del #PRD condena el cobarde asesinato de nuestro compañero Conrado Mendoza Almeda, Alcalde de San Miguel Totolapan, #Guerrero. Exigimos justicia @FGEGuerrero, basta de violencia e impunidad. pic.twitter.com/MWq1IFbm0u
— PRD (@PRDMexico) October 5, 2022
Although it is not clear if Almeda knew the killers, his father, who was also shot to death on Wednesday, did know them.
After the June 7 Guerrero state election in which Almeda was elected mayor, an online video showed Mendoza Acosta drinking with members of the Los Tequileros gang. Mendoza was elected by them, the gangsters said. “Just like we made you win. Give us a hand.”
Mendoza answered yes when asked if he would be willing to work with them. Mendoza replied, “We will!
Mendoza was kidnapped one month before the election and released soon after.
Al Jazeera reported Mendoza might not have met with the gang involuntarily as shown in the video.
According to Etellekt Consultores analytics firm, Almeda’s death brings to 18 the total number of Mexican President Lopez Obrador’s assassinated mayors. During Obrador’s term, an additional 31 alderman as well as 11 trustees were assassinated.
Obrador has been relying more on the military and civilian police in recent months to control Mexico’s high level of violent crime. The police might not be able to deal with a militarized threat.
Vanda Felbab Brown, director at the Brookings Institute’s Initiative on Nonstate Armed Actors told Metro.co.uk, “Over the past 15 years, the operational tempo these groups in terms hit, counter-hits, and other attacks have been just as high as that of the Taliban.”
Brown stated that cartels and other gangs are “able to take whole cities like an insurgency-associated invasion force, they deploy drones, drive people out, and they use quite astonishing forms of violence.”
August was particularly difficult for cartel violence in Mexico.
Edgar Garcia Carrillo was a physician in Celaya, Mexico. He told the New York Times the area had fallen into “absolute war.”
Reports say that gangs and cartels attacked the country and opened fire on troops and police officers. They set fire to businesses and blocked roads. In broad daylight, they executed people. In Celaya, the number of homicides rose by 32% within the first four months.
Gangsters arranged mourners for a funeral on February 27th, gunned down, and cleaned up the area, leaving only a few brains.
This video shows one example of a JNGC cartel bombing campaign using drones.
Jalisco Cartel, Nueva Generación dropping small bombs from a drone on a target in Michoacán, Mexico.
People can be seen running away after the bombs hit the camp. #Mexico pic.twitter.com/5pYtg1V9B4— CNW (@ConflictsW) January 11, 2022
Violence is increasing at the U.S. border. Juarez is located next to El Paso in Texas. This summer, a prison fight between two rival Mexican cartels spilled into the streets killing at least 11 civilians.
Following sporadic shootings, 24 cars were set ablaze in Tijuana (Mexico) on August 13. The JNGC’s proxies in the massacre of Guerrero this week set out to terrorize the city. The city issued a shelter-in-place order.
American citizens were warned by the U.S. State Department about traveling to Mexico. They were advised that violence — including kidnapping, murder, carjacking, and theft — was common in Mexico. The U.S. government is unable to provide emergency services in many Mexican areas.
The State Department advised that you should not travel to the following Mexican States: Colima and Guerrero, Michoacan Sinaloa, Tamaulipas, and Zacatecas.
It suggested that Americans should reconsider travel to Baja California and Sonora. The U.S. government stressed the need for “increased precaution” almost everywhere else in Mexico.
