Four of the five men who died in a shootout with state cops near El Molino on March 16 have been identified, Jalisco Attorney General Eduardo Almaguer reported this week.
One of the deceased was identified as the leader of an organized crime cell in Jocotepec, while the others all had criminal records for various offenses, including drug trafficking.
Almaguer stressed this week that the Fuerza Unica Regional (FUR) officers did not start the gun battle and only responded after being fired upon by the criminal group.
Three of the deceased died inside a white SUV that the officers had stumbled across on an isolated track 1.5 kilometers from the Jocotepec highway.
An investigation is underway to determine whether the criminal group involved in the incident were connected to the killing of a police officer whose body was discovered in his patrol car earlier that day on the Atemajac de Brizuela-Zacoalco de Torres road.