WATCH: Five Shot by Cartel Hitmen in Mexico City

A shocking cartel execution captured on security video by multiple hitmen in Mexico City sparked fears of escalating narco-violence.

The execution of the victims identified as José Miguel N, 31, Julio Cesar N, 25, Hugo Ascencio N, 25, Enrique N, 23, and Gabriel N, 23, occurred in colonia El Triunfo, in the Iztapalapa section of Mexico City on April 29, according to Sinembargo.

The video depicts five victims standing in front of an apartment complex near a parked red sedan. A grey sedan then slowly pulls up and its passengers immediately open fire. Two of the victims can be seen crashing to the ground from gunshots.

One gunman exits the rear driver’s side door armed with what appears to be a long rifle and he gives chase to two of the victims attempting to flee. A second gunman exits the rear passenger door armed with a long rifle and finishes off two of the victims and gives chase as well. A third gunman armed with a handgun also gives chase and can be seen firing in the direction of the fleeing victims. All three get back into the getaway vehicle and leave the area.

According to local media reports and Breitbart Texas law enforcement sources, the recent narco-violence spreading to Mexico City can be attributed to the dispute for control of the drug market in the Ciudad Universitaria section of Mexico City which is home to the prestigious university, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM).

The three groups involved are “Los Rodolfos,” led by Rodolfo Rodríguez Morales, aka La Gorda; El Tepito Cartel; and remnants of the Tláhuac Cartel who maintained control of the area up until its leader and other influential members who were killed or captured. The weakening of the Tláhuac Cartel created an opening for other groups to take control of the lucrative market that UNAM provides. Some of Mexico’s wealthiest students attend university there.

Breitbart Texas previously reported on the death of the leader of the Tláhuac Cartel, Felipe de Jesus “El Ojos” (Eyes) Luna, who was killed along with seven of his gunmen during a battle with Mexican Marines in July 2017. Breitbart Texas previously reported on threats made to well-known Mexican journalist Héctor de Mauleón, one of the founders of La Crónica de Hoy and a columnist for El Universal, for his reporting on the activities of the Tláhuac Cartel.

Robert Arce is a retired Phoenix Police detective with extensive experience working Mexican organized crime and street gangs. Arce has worked in the Balkans, Iraq, Haiti, and recently completed a three-year assignment out of the U.S. consulate general in Monterrey, Mexico, working for the United States Department of State, International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Program, where he was the Regional Program Manager for Northeast Mexico (Coahuila, Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Durango, San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas.) You can follow him on Twitter. He can be reached at robertrarce@gmail.com