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Recent violence in Mexico's Veracruz state continues to take lives

Mexico registered more than 2,000 murders in May, a record high for any month since 1997. Mexico registered more than 2,000 murders in May, a record high for any month since 1997. Carlos Jasso/Reuters

17 July 2017
Four children, Veracruz federal police chief, two federal police officers, and four adult civilians were killed in Mexico's latest gang violence.

On 24 June 2017, eleven people were killed in Mexico’s Veracruz state in the latest act of violence linked to criminal gangs.

Veracruz is one of the country’s most violence-ridden states. It is home to two rival drug cartels, namely -  the Zetas and Jalisco New Generation (CJNG), who are fighting over  drug trafficking turf. The following incidents were a result of the violence. An armed gunman killed three federal police officers, including the head of the federal police in Veracruz, in a restaurant in the city of Cardel. In the nearby city of Coatzacoalcos, two adults and four children were killed while eating dinner at an outdoor restaurant. And in the city of Orizaba, two women were fatally shot.

Around 30,000 people have disappeared in Mexico since the drug violence dramatically increased in 2007. According to the latest government statistics released on Wednesday, 21 June 2017, there were 2,186 murder investigations in May. This surpasses the previous monthly high of 2,131 in May 2011. Much of this violence has occurred since the former president Felipe Calderon sent the army out to battle the drug gangs at the end of 2006.



To read more, visit:

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/06/11-killed-mexico-latest-drug-violence-170625064714438.html
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-violence-idUSKBN19G089

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