Five Mexican police officers were shot dead and five wounded in Michoacan state on Wednesday, just before the World Cup began in Mexico City. The victims were attacked by unknown gunmen in an Indigenous region known for cartel violence. Their pickup truck was heavily damaged by bullets. The slain officers identified as Porfirio Rodriguez Briseno, Brandon Josue Zamora Torres, Francisco Javier Otero Damas, Jonatan Mondragon Servin, and Mateo Valdez Abarca.
Jose Pablo Alarcon Olemdo, the former police chief, expressed condolences to the victims’ families and called for the arrest of those responsible. The attack occurred in Nahuatzen, a Purepecha-inhabited area where the New Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) operates. In May, the murder of a mayor by the CJNG sparked protests against the state’s failure to control violence.
The state’s security department is searching for the attackers. The U.S. Embassy stated that safety risks vary greatly across Mexico and provided separate travel advisories for each Mexican state. In late April, Mexican military captured one of the CJNG’s top leaders, Audias Flores Silva, who was a potential successor to the killed leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, or “El Mencho.” The U.S. offered a $5 million reward for information leading to his arrest.