In Michoacán, western Mexico, a violent day left ten people dead and two police officers injured as clashes erupted between suspected hit squads. The government report confirms the fatal toll and outlines the sequence of events that unfolded across the state on Wednesday, highlighting confrontations that spanned multiple locations and involved arson, gunfire, and rapid responses by security forces.
Officials from the State Secretariat for Public Security (SSP) described a harrowing start to the day in the municipality of Tarímbaro, which sits just outside Morelia, the state capital. In this rural area known as Peña del Panal, armed groups engaged in a running exchange of gunfire that lasted more than three hours. At least two vehicles were set ablaze during the skirmishes, and several people sustained injuries from multiple gunshots as authorities attempted to restore order and secure the region for residents and travelers alike.
Concurrently, the state Attorney General’s Office (FGE) reported additional raids by hitman factions targeting homes in two subdivisions. The violence produced a grim tally: three men and one woman were killed in these attacks. In the aftermath, two of the victims were cremated, while another person perished in a separate incident near one of the earlier sites, underscoring the spread and brutal nature of the violence that day.
Further discoveries by the FGE included the recovery of two bodies along the edge of the Morelia-Salamanca federal corridor, not far from the state line with Guanajuato. The bodies bore signs of torture and gunshot trauma, and authorities noted that one of the deceased was a man. In another violent episode, a male victim was fatally shot as assailants intruded into his home in the Pablo Galeana neighborhood on the southern outskirts of Morelia, illustrating the reach of the conflict into urban and suburban sectors alike.
Security agencies, including the Michoacán Civil Guard, reported clashes extending to eastern areas of the state and into Zitácuaro, a municipality near the border with the State of Mexico. In that community, a self-service convenience store and a public transport van were torched in the midst of the melee. Law enforcement teams, comprising the National Guard and the state police, managed to neutralize two attackers, yet two officers sustained gunshot wounds, signaling the ongoing risk faced by those enforcing public safety amid ongoing hostilities.
As night fell, joint operations involving the army, the National Guard, and the Civil Guard continued in an intensified search for armed groups. The day’s violence is attributed to the presence and activities of well-known criminal networks that operate in the region, each vying for control over drug production and trafficking routes. The main groups identified within the affected zones include the Jalisco Nueva Generación cartel, the Familia Michoacana, historically linked to the region, Las Caballeros Templarios, and the Los Correa faction. Their influence has shaped the security landscape in Michoacán for years, often triggering clashes with state and federal forces when authorities attempt to dismantle their operations or disrupt supply chains.