At least 13 police officers or attorney general’s office workers were killed in a gang ambush in central Mexico state on Thursday, the Security Secretariat and Attorney General’s office reported.
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The attack occurred in an area of the municipality of Coatepec Harinas, while the convoy was carrying out operations against armed groups operating in the area, the same sources said.
“At this point, we know that five police officers and eight employees of the Attorney General’s office were killed in this cowardly attack,” a joint statement told these institutions.
After the attack, members of the National Guard, the Ministry of Defense and the Navy launched a manhunt to locate the attackers.
The authorities argued that this attack would not go unpunished.
The state of Mexico, which adjoins the capital, is considered one of the most violent in the country. Several drug trafficking cartels operate there, including Familia Michoacana.
More than 300,000 people have been killed in Mexico since the federal government launched a military anti-drug operation in December 2006.
The government attributes most of these crimes to gangs.