WATCH: Mexico City Police Fight Against Sinaloa Cartel’s Belt-Fed Machine Gun

Mexican authorities had a large-scale shootout on the outskirts of Mexico City, where members of the Sinaloa Cartel were holding kidnapping victims.

Se desata balacera entre elementos de la policía de investigación de la @SSC_CDMX y hombre armados sobre la carretera México-Cuernavaca, a la altura de San Miguel Topilejo, en la delegación Tlalpan; continúa operativo en la zona.#CDMX #Estados #Inseguridad pic.twitter.com/icXPP91QzX

— Periódico Enfoque (@P_Enfoque) July 12, 2022

The clash took place this week along the Mexico City-Cuernavaca highway in the Tlalpan borough, where Gunmen began shooting at police vehicles patrolling the area. The officers sought cover, tried to fight back, and called for backup. Hundreds of officers responded to the scene and were able to track down the instigators to a stash house. According to information released by Mexico City Police Chief Omar Garcia Harfuch, at least 14 gunmen inside the house tried to fight off law enforcement using heavy weaponry that included a belt-fed machine gun, grenades, and a .50 caliber rifle.

After the shootout, authorities set out a large-scale manhunt and arrested 12 gunmen near the house and two others nearby in a vehicle, Harfuch said, adding that four of his officers were injured. One is in critical condition.

Balacera en topilejo @TlalpanAl pic.twitter.com/iinfrXtcyT

— Xochinauta ️ (@SinXochimilco) July 12, 2022

Inside the house, authorities rescued four kidnapping victims. According to Harfuch, one of the victims had been held for more than 20 days. The police chief revealed that the kidnappings were not ransom-related and knew of no missing persons in conjunction with the discovery.

Among the items seized, authorities found police-style badges which identified the gunmen as members of a “special forces” unit with the Sinaloa Cartel. Harfuch said the gunmen were not from Mexico City and had arrived to the area two months prior.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com. 

Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.     

L.P. Contreras from Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project contributed to this report.