Cartel gunmen carried out attacks at three soccer fields in the central Mexican state of Zacatecas, killing eight and injuring four others over the past weekend.
Over the weekend, gunmen carried attacks at soccer fields in the towns of Jerez, Guadalupe, and Calera.
According to state authorities, on Saturday afternoon, gunmen attacked and killed men at a field in Guadalupe, El Sol de Zacatecas reported.
In a second attack just hours later in the town of Jerez, a group of gunmen also attacked a group playing soccer shooting four men; one of them died.
At almost the same time, authorities in Calera responded to a call of shots fired at a soccer field. Police found three men shot, only one of those still alive, El Universal reported.
Criminal organizations have also been fighting for control of Zacatecas, which has several highways connecting key ports of Mexico with border states.
Through various messages and videos, members of Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) have accused officials of protecting their rivals and helping criminals extort and kidnap locals.
According to information released by the Autonomous University of Zacatecas, the state has seen a dramatic rise in violence with 286 murders recorded in 2015 to 1,065 in 2020. The tally jumped to 1,167 for 2021 with the forecast for 2022 expected to be even greater.
Editor’s Note: Breitbart Texas traveled to Mexico City and the states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, and Nuevo León to recruit citizen journalists willing to risk their lives and expose the cartels silencing their communities. The writers would face certain death at the hands of the various cartels that operate in those areas including the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas if a pseudonym were not used. Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles are published in both English and in their original Spanish. This article was written by “C.P. Mireles” from Tamaulipas.