Twenty people were killed in clashes between police and armed criminals along the border between Jalisco and Michoacan on Sunday.
Seven police officers were among the dead, following a series of coordinated ambushes, the Jalisco Public Security Agency (SSP) revealed on Monday.
Five policemen will killed and another four were injured – along with one civilian – in the first attack in Briseñas, Michoacan in the early hours of Sunday morning. The assailants reportedly opened fire when police arrived in the area to investigate reports of a traffic accident.
Minutes later, another four officers were killed and three more injured in the nearby town of Ayotlan, Jalisco. A number of vehicles were also damaged when gunmen attacked the police headquarters in Degollado, Jalisco.
Three more officers were injured in the Jalisco municipality of Quitupan when they were ambushed by gunmen in trucks. Police then found three bodies at the Faisan ranch in Quitupan and the handcuffed bodies of another three men at the Quiringual ranch in the same town. A male from Quitupan who suffered injuries in the attacks was admitted to a private hospital in Guadalajara.
The same day, a man and woman were shot dead on the highway to Jilotlan de los Dolores, Jalisco, with a son of the woman also suffering gunshot wounds. Another woman was then shot to death in Jilotlan de los Dolores.
Finally, two people were burned to death when their vehicle was set alight in Marcos Castellanos, Michoacan. Three other vehicles were set on fire to form a road block, the Michoacan authorities said.
No arrests were reported and the attacks have yet to be attributed to a specific criminal gang, although the Jalisco Cartel Nueva Generacion and the Knights Templar are considered the most active in the region.
The latter gang, which is based in Michoacan, left banners known as “narcomantas” in the cities of Morelia, Zamora and Uriangato, Guanajuato last week, offering to lay down their arms if President Enrique Peña Nieto takes effective action to curb violent crime in the region.
While most of Jalisco is considered safe for travel, the U.S. State Department advised against all non-essential travel to the area along the Michoacan border in its most recent advisory last month.