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| Caribbean-Latin America |
| Mexican Government Helicopters Lit Up 10 Cartel Vehicles in Shootout |
| 2013-12-21 |
| badanov is on temporary hiatus writing about the Mexican Drug War as he prepares his last volume on the Mexican Drug War, The Wounded Eagle, and his third novel set for release next summer. MEXICO CITY (AP) -- Two government helicopter gunships opened fire on 10 vehicles fleeing a luxury beach condo complex during this week's gun battle at the Gulf of California resort of Puerto Penasco, Mexican authorities said. New details emerged about the raging gun battle that ensued after federal forces tried to capture a reputed top lieutenant of the Sinaloa drug cartel who was staying at a beachfront villa. Mexico's federal police said late Thursday that two government Blackhawk helicopters fired on at least 10 vehicles as they tried to flee the complex with drug cartel operator Gonzalo Inzunza. The vehicles were hit by gunfire in the Wednesday battle and were "left useless, causing the assailants to disperse." Five presumed cartel gunmen were killed in the battle. Police found 14 sniper or assault rifles at the scene, which one federal official confirmed were of heavy caliber. Two federal officers were wounded in the gunfight. Wonder if these were Fast and Furious weapons? The bullet-ridden, burned-out vehicles were left just outside the complex, which federal police did not identify. But Puerto Penasco city spokesman Cristobal Garcia confirmed Friday that the shootout actually began inside the Bella Sirena complex, where Inzunza was staying at a beachfront villa. The resort has units for both sale and rent, but it was unclear if the reputed capo owned or was renting the unit in which he was staying. Garcia insisted that "these are not people who live in Puerto Penasco ... perhaps they were here on a holiday." Why Beatrice they seemed like such nice people. I thought they were in insurance back in Omaha. But federal police said Inzunza, 42, "has set up his center of operations in Puerto Penasco," to run drug-trafficking networks that stretched through at least seven other states, from the Caribbean coast state of Quintana Roo in Mexico's southeast to Baja California in the country's northwest. They said Inzunza "had a personal relationship with Ismael ("El Mayo") Zambada," long viewed as the No. 2 leader of the Sinaloa cartel, after Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman. Inzunza's body was not found at the scene, and federal officials said they believed the fleeing gunmen took his dead or wounded body with them, as cartel gunmen sometimes do with fallen gang members or leaders. Weekend at Bernies? Federal police said late Thursday that an analysis of blood stains found in the vehicles show that Inzunza was among those killed or wounded. Drug cartel shootouts at Mexico's beach resorts generally have been rare, though some have been reported in the past in the Pacific coast resort of Acapulco. Prosecutors in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz said Friday they had found seven bodies dumped on a beach just south of the seaside city of Veracruz. They did not provide identities or a cause of death. Afghanistan might be safer. |
| Posted by:JohnQC |