At least 13 police killed in shootout with a cartel in Mexico.

Mexican police in Guerro state. LA Times.

At least 13 police, with some sources saying 14, were killed in a shootout with a cartel in Mexico's Michoacan state. LA Times. The police were enforcing a judicial order in the small town of El Aguaje when they were ambushed by a group of 20 manned vehicles. The extremely violent Jalisco New Generation Cartel took credit for the attack and left messages for the police at the scene of the crime saying they should not collaborate with other cartels. Jalisco is responsible for many other atrocities including shooting down a police helicopter. The group is trying to take over Michoacan state from the La Familia Micoachan cartel. Mexico's president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, AKA Almo, has declared the Mexican Drug War over but the statement has not reduced the level of violence. 

My Comment:

Just a quick reminder that the western hemisphere's bloodiest and most forgotten war continues. Though this skirmish will largely be a footnote it is a strong sign that there Mexican Drug War is nowhere near over. Killing 13 to 14 cops is a big deal even if it did happen in Mexico. 

It seems pretty clear that Almo's efforts to stop the drug war haven't helped. These cartels don't care much about what the government does as they can either use bribes or violence to keep them under control. Their true goals are fighting the other cartels so they can control the lucrative drug and human smuggling trades. 

This wasn't a great showing for the Mexican police either. Mexican cops are armed and weren't able to take any of their attackers with them. They were obviously outnumbered but even still, if they had been better able to fight back they probably would have taken a few cartel members with them. Though I suppose if any of the cartel members were killed or injured they could have been taken away by their fellow cartel members. 

It's pretty clear that the Mexican Drug War isn't going away anytime soon. There is way too much money to be made in drugs and as long as there are multiple competing cartels there violence will continue. They all want a bigger piece of the pie and are willing to commit horrible things to accomplish that goal. 

More troublesome is the fact that the drug cartels have diversified their economies. They aren't just in the drug business anymore. People smuggling and human trafficking are now big sources of income as well. Kidnapping for ransom has also become more common and so has fuel theft rings. Even if America legalized all drugs, these cartels would still be around.