05272015Wed
Last updateFri, 22 May 2015 4pm

Jalisco town to avoid at all costs

The usually sedate town of Villa Purificacion in southern Jalisco is becoming a major battleground of the federal government’s operation to dismantle the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). 

A shootout  between federal police and alleged criminals in Villa Purificacion this week left at least eight of the latter dead. Authorities have released few details about the confrontation and said only three of the deceased have been identified.

On May 1, on the outskirts of Villa Purificacion, members of the CJNG used a rocket propelled grenade launcher to shoot down a military helicopter, killing six soldiers and sparking region-wide disturbances and blockades.

Earlier this week Jalisco Governor Aristoteles Sandoval announced that 19 Villa Purificacion municipal police officers were being disarmed after suspicions were raised about their possible links with organized crime.  Similar action was taken against 11 officers in Union de Tula.  

According to locals in southern Jalisco, more than 40 people have disappeared in the region since the May 1 disturbances.