Mexico: Marines kill eight gang members in southeastern Mexico City July 20

Event

At least eight suspected gang members were killed in a shootout with marines in Mexico City on Thursday, July 20. According to the Mexican Navy, a patrol of marines in Tlahuac was attacked by the suspected gang members, leading to the firefight. Among those killed was allegedly Felipe de Jesus Luna, who the Navy claimed was the head of a violent criminal organization. No information was made available regarding whether any marines suffered injuries.

Context

Since the first operation of former President Felipe Calderon’s war on drug cartels took place in 2006, Mexico City has largely avoided the drug-related violence that has killed more than 100,000 across the country. However, violent crimes have been on the rise in the capital, as they have elsewhere; from January through May, there were 438 murders recorded Mexico City in 2017, almost 20 percent more than during the same period in 2016.

Advice

Due to extreme levels of violence linked to the presence of various armed groups, many Western governments advise against travel to a large portion of Mexican territory, including Guerrero, Colima, Sinaloa, Michoacán, and Tamaulipas states and the northeastern border with the United States, as well as to a lesser extent Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Jalisco, Nayarit, Nuevo León, and Sonora states.