Cartel gunmen allegedly stormed a drug rehab center. They supposedly lined up victims and shot them, killing 24 and injuring seven more. The attack came almost at the same time as President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador spoke publicly about his government’s success in slowing violent crime.
The attack took place on Wednesday afternoon in Irapuato, Guanajuato, at the Recuperando Mi Vida drug rehabilitation center, said local Public Security Director Pedro Cortes Zavala in a streamed conference. The gunmen arrived in a red vehicle and forced everyone inside to the floor before opening fire. Authorities recovered shell casings commonly used in AK-47 rifles.
The gruesome attack took place almost at the same time that President Lopez Obrador was presenting his most recent crime statistics.
Mexican federal law enforcement sources consulted by Breitbart Texas say the attack was supposedly carried out by the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG) as part of its campaign for territorial expansion in the state. That effort has led to numerous clashes with a local fuel theft outfit known as Cartel Santa Rosa de Lima. On June 6, gunmen killed 10 victims in a similar mass shooting at rehab center called Empezando Una Nueva Vida, also in Irapuato.
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.
Tony Aranda from Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project contributed to this report