Five Gunned Down by Suspected Cartel Operatives near Arizona Border

Five people were gunned down by suspected cartel gunmen in the northern Mexican border state of Sonora near Arizona Sunday, continuing a trend of violent activity in the region.

The five victims were reportedly standing in front of a residence drinking beer and listening to music in Caborca when several unknown gunmen arrived in multiple vehicles and opened fire with at least three different firearms, according to local reports. The suspects left three males and two females fatally wounded at the scene. Municipal and state police responded with elements of the Mexican Army. The five victims were identified as Angel Emilio “N,”(26); Misael “N,” (23); Rubén Eduardo “N,” (36); Adriana “N,” (39); and María Guadalupe “N,” (32).

The primary gunman was described as being approximately 5’5” and thin with a rifle slung over his shoulder. Caborca is roughly 80 miles from the U.S. border and the municipality stretches north to Arizona. Security elements blocked off the exits to the city in an unsuccessful attempt to locate the suspected gunmen.

Breitbart News previously reported on cartel activity related to Caborca, with numerous large seizures of methamphetamine, fentanyl, and cocaine in addition to a recent incident when cartel gunmen opened fire on state police and later abandoned an armored vehicle.

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 in Monterrey, Mexico, working out of the Consulate 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.