Mexican authorities continue to investigate why a group of suspected cartel gunmen pulled up to two Christmas parties and began to shoot at the people in attendance indiscriminately.
The shootings took place early Sunday morning at two separate parties — one in Salvatierra and one in Salamanca, Guanajuato.
The motive of the attack or which cartel carried it out remains unknown. Authorities revealed that 12 victims died during the attack in Salvatierra, while four others died in the attack in Salamanca. At least a dozen others sustained gunshot injuries.
Local journalists in Mexico shared a photograph of the young men and women gathered at a rural hacienda in Salvatierra for their Christmas celebration or Posada. That photograph was taken just moments before a group of gunmen stormed the place and began shooting those in attendance.
Details of the shooting in Salamanca remain largely unknown.
The mass killings come at a time when Mexico continues to experience unprecedented levels of violence. Cartels operate with impunity under the watch of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who had campaigned in 2018 under the premise of ending cartel violence and impunity. During his term as president, Lopez Obrador made several claims about ending the war on drugs and that the answer to stopping violence was to take a soft approach against criminal organizations instead of using military and police forces against them. That approach has become commonly known as “Abrazos No Balazos” or hugs, not bullets, and has earned Lopez Obrador much criticism as well as accusations from his rivals of choosing to protect cartel bosses over the general public.
During his morning news conference on Monday, Lopez Obrador called the mass killing “lamentable” and sent “hugs” to their relatives. Lopez Obrador tried to blame his political rivals by claiming that it was a structural problem that was allowed to grow.
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.
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