For a map, click here. For a map of Zacatecas state, click here
By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com
A Policia Federal (PF) road patrol killed six armed suspects in a firefight in Zacatecas state Saturday afternoon, according to Mexican news sources.
According to a news item posted in the website of El Sol de Zacatecas Sunday, a detachment of Policia Federal was on patrol on Mexico Federal Highway 54 near Concepcion del Oro municipality, when suspects travelling aboard three vehicles were signalled at around 1530 by the unit to stop. Instead, armed suspects opened fire on the unit. PF return fire killed six armed suspects.
A news item posted on the website of Vangardia news daily said the dead were members of Los Zetas criminal gang. Six guns characterized in reports as heavy weapons, which usually means assault rifles were seized in the aftermath along with ammunition and the three vehicles.
Reports also said a unit of the Mexican 52 Infantry Battalion along with an undisclosed number of Zacatecas state police agents were subsequently dispatched to the area to add security.
Mexico Highway 54 is a direct route between Zacatecas city, the capital of Zacatecas state and Saltillo, the capital of Coahuila state. The site of the armed encounter was close to the extreme northeastern border of Zacatecas.
Meanwhile, the bodies of two transit police agents were found dead in their abandoned vehicle in the village of Gualterio in Chalchihuites municipality, according to a news item posted on the website of El Sol de Zacatecas.
The two victims were identified as Transit police agent Eduardo Zapata Perez and an assistant, Policia Preventativa agent Faustino Flores Ayala. Both men had been shot to death.
According to official reports related by the news post, the two officers had been dispatched to Sombrerete municipality to settle a dispute, but were instead attacked by a mob and shot to death. The report also added that transit officers do not engage in any other state business but traffic matters.
Sombrerete and Chalchihuites municipalities are in the westernmost area of Zacatecas state.
Mexico Federal Highway 45, which connects Durango city with Fresnillo, Zacatecas, is one of the most dangerous stretches of road in Mexico, as several instances of armed robberies of travellers have been reported, including two against local Catholic priests.
Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com