For a map, click here. For a map of Zacatecas state, click here
By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com
A total of five unidentified armed suspects and one Mexican Policia Federal (PF) agent were killed in an armed confrontation in Zacatecas state late Wednesday morning, according to Mexican news accounts.
According to a story posted on the website of La Cronica de Hoy news daily, a PF unit was on patrol in Sain Alto municipality when it observed armed suspects travelling aboard two vehicles on the road between Sombrerete and Rio Grande, specifically in the village of La Laborcilla. The armed group then fled.
PF units had been on patrol in Sain Alto specifically in the villages of Sain Bajo, La Laborcilla, Barrancas and Cazadores when the pursuit and subsequent firefight took place. The increased patrol activity was due to a PF effort to locate an armed group operating in the municipality.
According to a news item posted on the El Sol de Zacatecas news daily website, the suspects were travelling aboard a Ford Escape and Nissan Tiida when they fled. A second PF unit intercepted the group some kilometers away which sparked the gunfight.
PF units presence was enhanced by at least one helicopter and several additional PF units, which had been called in from Zacatecas city to reinforce the pursuit.
At the conclusion of the firefight, a scuffle broke out between PF agents and local journalists, who claimed PF agents beat them and broke computer equipment, according to the La Cronica de Hoy news item.
Sain Alto is on Mexico Federal Highway 45, which leads to Durango state. The municipality is also 40 kilometers northwest of Fresnillo.
Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com