(Bloomberg) -- At least 19 people were killed in a shooting Sunday night in Mexico's Michoacan state, the latest in a string of mass killings as cartels war over territory in various parts of the country.
The state prosecutor's office said it found 16 men and three women dead at a clandestine cockfight in the town of Las Tinajas and is investigating the shooting.
While overall murder rates have fallen in Mexico in recent months -- homicides dropped 14.2% in February compared the same month in 2021 -- pitched battles among cartels in states like Michoacan and Guanajuato have led to attacks with mass casualties. At the beginning of March, the government confirmed another shooting in Michoacan that left as many as 17 people dead.
AMLO's Defense
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador defended his government's policies toward criminal groups on Monday, which have focused on addressing the cause of violence rather than facing cartels head-on. “We are seeing good results because we completely changed our security policy,” Lopez Obrador said, adding that the incident in Michoacan took place after one criminal group arrived at the cockfight and opened fire against a rival gang.
The states of Michoacan and Guanajuato have been under fire lately as the heavily armed New Generation Jalisco Cartel seeks to expand territory. But cartel violence has also risen elsewhere, with famous beach resorts like Tulum and Cancun caught in the crossfire. The government sent 405 armed troops to Tulum in October and deployed another 1,500 in November to Cancun and surrounding beaches following shootouts near luxury hotels.
Read More: Shooting in Mexican Glamor Resort Tulum Leaves Two Dead
The U.S. Consulate in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, temporarily closed to the public after the detention of crime boss “el Huevo” led to shootouts and blockades in early March.
Victims have also involved government figures. AMLO, as the president is known, promised to work on stopping violence after the mayor of Aguililla, Michoacan was killed on March 10.
Several people were injured in the latest shooting and were sent to local hospitals.
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