Video arcade massacre leaves nine dead in Mexico
Nine people were murdered and two more injured in a shooting at a video arcade in the Mexican state of Michoacan at around 3 pm on February 3.
What happened?
According to the attorney general’s office, four shooters reportedly walked into the video arcade in the city of Uruapan and fired at the patrons with military-grade weapons.
Authorities found 65 ballistic shells belonging to a 9mm caliber gun.
Four of the nine who were killed were minors between the ages of 12 and 17.
Dispute between rival drug trafficking groups
Local authorities say the attack was reportedly caused by a dispute between rival drug cartels Los Viagras and Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
Witnesses say the shooters entered the arcade and asked for three people from the Los Viagras cartel. One of those targeted in the attack was reported to be a well-known drug trafficker and car thief.
CJNG’s El Mencho
The United States police have offered a reward of US$10 million for information on CJNG’s current leader, Nemesio Oseguera Ramos, also known as El Mencho.
CJNG has syndicates all over the US that each year supply thousands of kilos of methamphetamines, heroin, cocaine and fentanyl.
The group is said to have earned over US$20 billion from drug-dealing.
“These guys have way more money than Sinaloa,” a former DEA agent told Rolling Stone.
Sinaloa is a drug cartel once led by the infamous drug lord Joaquín Guzmán, also known as El Chapo, considered the most powerful drug-trafficker in the world.
Mexico has offered a reward of US$1.6 million to anyone who can help track El Mencho down.
Drug violence in Uruapan
CJNG is also responsible for one of Mexico’s most violent attacks. The attack took place in Uruapan in August 2019 when the cartel hung nine mutilated bodies on an overpass.
Police found a total of 19 bodies in the attack, with the other ten found dismembered in nearby dumpsters.
A banner placed under the bridge by CJNG read, “Be a patriot, kill a Viagra,” referring to the Los Viagras drug cartel.