5 police officers dead after being "attacked and ambushed" in Mexico; patrol vehicle set on fire
Why Trump is pushing military help for Mexico to help fight cartels
Why Trump is pushing military help for Mexico
Why Trump is pushing military help for Mexico
Five police officers died Monday after they were ambushed by an armed group in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, on the border with Guatemala, local officials said.
The attack happened in the town of Frontera Comalapa, where the Chiapas state police officers were on patrol when they were ambushed.
"Members of the state police were attacked and ambushed," the governor of Chiapas, Eduardo Ramirez, said on social media.
Ramirez identified the slain officers as Guillermo Cortés Morales, Jesús Sánchez Pérez, Joel Martínez Pérez, Brenda Lizbeth Toalá Blanco and Pedro Hernández Hernánde.
The local Security Secretariat said it had deployed more than 1,000 officers to "attend to the situation and guarantee security in the area."
Five police officers died Monday after they were ambushed by an armed group in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, on the border with Guatemala, local officials said.
Chiapas State Governor Eduardo Ramirez
The agency also shared an image of the slain officers' charred patrol vehicle after it was completely engulfed in flames on a roadway.
Later, the agency announced on social media they had arrested a man in connection to the murders. Authorities said the suspect was hiding in the weeds about half a mile from the crime scene, carrying an AK-47 rifle and a backpack with military uniforms. Officials did not immediately give information about other possible suspects.
In recent months, Chiapas has been shaken by a bloody turf war between the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation cartel — the country's two most powerful criminal organizations. Chiapas has been described by the InSight Crime think tank as "a major smuggling hub of both drugs and migrants."
In December, authorities said they recovered more than 30 bodies from pits in Chiapas.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Washington Post
41 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Taiwan offers Guatemala aid as it guards its diplomatic flanks from China
TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan is offering aid to its lone Central American diplomatic ally, Guatemala, as it attempts to stave off efforts by China to win away its last remaining partners. During a meeting Thursday with his visiting Guatemalan counterpart Bernardo Arevalo, President Lai Ching-te said the two countries would 'strengthen exchanges and cooperation as well as scholarship programs for young people, provide training for high-tech and information and communication as to push forward prosperity and development.'
Associated Press
an hour ago
- Associated Press
Taiwan offers Guatemala aid as it guards its diplomatic flanks from China
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan is offering aid to its lone Central American diplomatic ally, Guatemala, as it attempts to stave off efforts by China to win away its last remaining partners. During a meeting Thursday with his visiting Guatemalan counterpart Bernardo Arevalo, President Lai Ching-te said the two countries would 'strengthen exchanges and cooperation as well as scholarship programs for young people, provide training for high-tech and information and communication as to push forward prosperity and development.' Arevalo identified public health, education, agriculture, technology and infrastructure as key areas where Guatemala was seeking to increase its capacity. 'In the future, we shall continue to strengthen bilateral relations based on the solid foundations built in the past,' the president said. Such assistance is key as Taiwan attempts to hold the line against advances by China, which typically offers big-ticket items such as highways, railways and stadiums to lure away Taiwan's allies, often expecting repayment at market rates. Winning over Taiwan's allies brings China closer to its goal of diplomatically isolating Taiwan in order to demoralize the population and aid Beijing in its goal of 'peacefully unifying' with the island it claims as its own territory. Taiwan's offerings tend to be more modest and pragmatic, largely because it is a parliamentary democracy where all such spending must be approved by the legislature. It also offers the model of a functioning democracy in a world increasingly leaning toward hardline authoritarian regimes. Still, China has steadily reduced the number of Taiwan's diplomatic allies to just 12 after launching campaigns in the Caribbean and Central America to win over countries such as Peru.
CBS News
2 hours ago
- CBS News
Popular band fined $36,000 for performing songs glorifying drug cartels in Mexico
Why Trump is pushing military help for Mexico to help fight cartels Why Trump is pushing military help for Mexico Why Trump is pushing military help for Mexico A popular Mexican band has been fined more than $36,000 for performing songs glorifying drug cartels, authorities in the northern city of Chihuahua announced Wednesday. At a Los Tucanes de Tijuana performance on Saturday, nearly a third of their songs were "narcocorridos" glamorizing drug traffickers, according to city official Pedro Oliva. The songs "glorified crime or alluded to the perpetrators of illegal acts," Oliva said in a television interview. Los Tucanes were banned from performing in their home city Tijuana from 2008 to 2023 for alleged shoutouts to two drug traffickers during a concert. Los Tucanes de Tijuana attend The 23rd Annual Latin Grammy Awards at Michelob ULTRA Arena on November 17, 2022 in Las Vegas, The Latin Recording Academy Several states across the country have imposed restrictions on the controversial subgenre of regional music, which is growing rapidly, even beyond Mexico's borders. In April, the ban sparked a riot during a concert after a singer refused to perform some of his most popular songs. Peso Pluma, who blends corridos with rap and hip-hop, was the seventh most-streamed artist in the world in 2024, according to Spotify. President Claudia Sheinbaum has rejected the idea of banning "narcocorridos," preferring to launch a music competition "for peace and against addictions" to counter the influence of drug culture among young people. Two months ago, the United States revoked the visas of the band Los Alegres del Barranco for showing images of a wanted drug lord during a concert. "I'm a firm believer in freedom of expression, but that doesn't mean that expression should be free of consequences," U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said at the time. "The last thing we need is a welcome mat for people who extol criminals and terrorists." At the end of May, members of Grupo Firme canceled a concert in the United States, saying their visas were under "administrative review" by the U..S embassy. Musicians in Mexico sometimes get caught up in cartel violence themselves. Last month, the bodies of five Mexican musicians from the band Grupo Fugitivo, were found in Reynosa along the Texas border. At least nine alleged cartel members were arrested and later drugs and weapons were seized in connection to the murders. In January this year, a small plane was reported to have dropped pamphlets on a northwestern city threatening around 20 music artists and influencers for alleged dealings with a warring faction of the Sinaloa drug cartel. In 2018, armed men kidnapped two members of the musical group "Los Norteños de Río Bravo," whose bodies were later found on the federal highway connecting Reynosa to Río Bravo, Tamaulipas. In 2013, 17 musicians from the group Kombo Kolombia were executed by alleged cartel members in the northeastern state of Nuevo Leon, allegedly because of links to a rival gang.
