Five police officers who were killed in a confrontation with heavily armed gunmen in Ocotlan on Thursday, March 19 were members of the Gendarmería convoy platoon that has been assigned to carry out routine patrols in the Chapala area since early February.
Almost all of the officers were in their early 20s. Distinguished by fresh young faces and friendly manners in interacting with the public, many established a warm rapport with local residents.
Federal authorities have held the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) responsible for the attack that left 11 people dead.
Apart from the officers, three bystanders and three presumed criminals were killed in the face-off, while eight officers were injured, one of them seriously.
The violence erupted at around 9 p.m. when affiliates of the CJNG ambushed – seemingly without any motive – a patrol of seven police vehicles . According to reports, the criminals had arrived in 12 vans loaded with heavy weaponry and began to open fire on the police units.
Following the shootout, investigators recovered seven high-caliber weapons, four grenades and five vehicles that had been used by the criminals. In total, 29 vehicles had been hit by bullets.
Mexican Interior Minister Interior Miguel Angel Osorio Chong expressed his condolences to the families of the fallen officers. “We will forever be thankful for your courageous service,” he tweeted. “To all those who have given their lives to protect others, we will continue firm in our work.”
Government officials have announced that they will take measures to boost federal forces in the region. The alleged leader of the CJNG, Nemesio Oseguera, alias El Mencho, is now regarded as the most wanted man in the country.
Ocotlan Mayor Enrique Robledo said the shootout was an isolated incident and rejected the suggestion it had occurred because of the “creeping effect” of criminal gangs entering Jalisco from the neighboring and more dangerous state of Michoacan.
Yet with bullet holes now littering walls and bloodstains on the pavement, many Ocotlan residents were visibly shaken by the violence. Children stayed at home the following day, as school directors decided they needed time with their families.
“We’re scared out of our wits,” said one resident, who asked to remain anonymous. “We hope the authorities take heed of the situation and send in more security.”
Cardinal Jose Francisco Robles Ortega, the archbishop of Guadalajara, referred to the incident in his Sunday homily to a packed Metropolitan Cathedral: “How sad, how unfortunate, that in many municipalities, local authorities are outgunned, or infiltrated or impotent in the face of the organization that these groups have.”
Robles added that such tragic incidents demonstrate that acts of violence in Mexico are not brought to an end when top kingpins are arrested.