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By Chris Covert
Six unidentified armed suspects said to be members of the Los Zetas criminal gangs were killed by Jalisco state police Wednesday morning according to Mexican news accounts.
| Six drops of bleach in the gene pool. |
The suspects aboard instead fired on the police, which initiated a brief vehicle pursuit. The pursuit ended in Zacatecas state where police return fire struck and killed six suspects. The remaining suspects continued to evade and eventually eluded the pursuit.
Policia Federal units in the area attempted to locate the fleeing suspects by using a Blackhawk UH-60 helicopter, but were unable to locate the convoy.
Among the rifles seized in the aftermath was a Barrett brand 0.50 caliber rifle, which Mexico considers an antiaircraft weapon. But it is more commonly known, in the US at least, as a long range sniper rifle. In fact, at least two Policia Federal observation helicopters were fired on last spring in Jalisco state during the height of a joint Mexican Army/Policia Federal counternarcotics operation.
Last week a rival Sinaloa group invaded Zacatecas state to attack police stations and Los Zetas safe houses in and around Zacatecas, the capital of Zacatecas state and Fresnillo, known as Zacatecas' second city.
To read the Rantburg report on last week's Sinaloas Cartel sponsored mayhem, click here. Follow link embedded in the story to read other reports about the area.
Zacatecas shares a long and winding border with Jalisco state, which is used by criminal gangs to flee local police. Since the deployment of three additional rifle battalions in Zacatecas, that advantage to criminal gangs seems to have evaporated.