As the army has driven the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) out of Aguililla, the neighboring state of Colima has seen a surge in violence.
A number of shootings, killings, and kidnappings in and near the city of Colima have sparked panic in the state since Monday, but as bullets and rumors fly, authorities have remained relatively quiet.
The first shooting was reported Monday in the Lomas de Vista Hermosa neighborhood of Colima city. The state attorney general’s office (FGE) reported that state police who responded to reports of gunshots found more than 200 bullet casings and two vehicles with bullet impacts.
There appear to have been at least three more shootings since Monday in Colima city and the nearby municipalities of Villa de Álvarez and Coquimatlán, according to reports by Milenio, but the FGE has not released any further statements mentioning these shootings. Information is scarce, but it is known that at least three people had been killed as of Tuesday, Milenio reported.
In an interview with Milenio after the riot, Colima Secretary of Public Security Manuel Llerandi Ruiz attributed the riot and deaths to a conflict between CJNG and Los Mezcales, identifying Los Mezcales as a criminal group that had formerly worked for the CJNG.
Source: Milenio
