Authorities in Mexico continue to investigate a brutal clash that killed 14 men and injured several others. The deaths occurred when a group of villagers took up arms against the ruling cartel in response to the raising of extortion fees collected from farmers.
The clash took place on Friday morning in the town of Texcaltitlan in Mexico State. The battle resulted in the killing of 14 individuals, including ten suspected cartel members, authorities said. According to information released by the Mexico State Attorney General’s Office, the clash took place between locals and a group of gunmen from the cartel known as La Familia Michoacana.
During the clash, villagers used machetes, sticks, and knives as they rushed the gunmen. A video shared on social media captured the moments right before the fighting began.
Se registran 14 muertos, luego de que pobladores de Texcaltitlán (EDOMEX) se defendieran de las extorsiones de la Familia Michoacana.
De los 14, 11 eran criminales.
Jajaja… Lo celebro. Pero no tarda el pįnchę peje a salir a defender a sus amigos narcospic.twitter.com/mS7MXCglDm
— El Zombie II (@DimeFred2) December 9, 2023
The cartel gunmen were led by Rigoberto “El Payaso” de la Sancha Santillan, a regional leader with La Familia Michoacana — a drug cartel that has been making a push in recent years into Mexico State and Mexico City. Authorities believe that El Payaso died during the clash. Several of his gunmen were wearing military-style uniforms and drove in gray vehicles with cartel logos spray painted on them.
According to various accounts published in Mexican media during or before the clash, El Payaso murdered a woman, which set off the villagers even more. After the clash, the villagers set fire to the cartel vehicles and burned some of the bodies of the gunmen. A video shared on social media captured the aftermath of the clash.
⚠️ ADVERTENCIA, IMÁGENES FUERTES ⚠️#Video 11 muertos es el saldo fatal tras el enfrentamiento entre civiles e integrantes de un grupo delictivo en el municipio de #Texcaltitlán, al sur del Estado de México. pic.twitter.com/eJhDgyc18F
— Juan Gabriel Periodista (@Juan_gabriel10) December 8, 2023
The man known as El Payaso had been mentioned in various cartel banners as they claimed to be fighting state police forces that supported their rivals. The online news outlet Infobae reported that Mexican authorities sought El Payaso for having ordered the murder of 13 police officers in 2021.
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.
Jose Luis Lara, and “L.P. Contreras” contributed to this report
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