The rural community of Guajes de Ayala in Mexico's Guerrero state experienced drone attacks and gunfire this week, even as residents had previously alerted law enforcement to escalating threats from the La Nueva Familia Michoacana cartel. The attacks began Wednesday morning, shortly after the community had spent weeks warning authorities of the cartel's advance.
Marilu Solorio, a 24-year-old resident, described hiding in an abandoned medical clinic with 70 other people, including women, children, and the elderly, while explosions and gunfire echoed. "While some are celebrating goals, others are getting massacred by drones carrying bombs," Solorio stated. She added that authorities should focus on protecting communities like hers instead of just World Cup hubs.
Mexican authorities initially denied the attacks despite local livestreams showing gunfire and smoke. However, after inquiries from news outlets, Mexico’s Security Cabinet announced that state security forces were being dispatched to the area to verify the situation and provide security.
The events highlight a potential consequence of the Mexican government's security strategy leading up to and during the World Cup. Security analyst David Saucedo noted that resources and personnel, including military and National Guard officers, were heavily concentrated in World Cup host cities like Mexico City, Monterrey, and Guadalajara. This reallocation, he suggested, may have left other regions, such as Guajes de Ayala, less protected.
La Nueva Familia Michoacana, a cartel designated a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. in 2023, has been expanding its presence in Guerrero. In response to cartel threats and perceived inaction from security forces, some residents have fled their homes. Local men have formed a vigilante group, reportedly armed with weapons smuggled from the U.S., to defend the community.
Guerrero has a long history of conflict between criminal factions, and locals have long expressed concerns about ongoing cartel activity. The recent events underscore the challenges President Claudia Sheinbaum faces in addressing pervasive criminal violence across the country, even as overall killings have decreased during her term. The World Cup, which concluded Sunday in Mexico without major security incidents in the host cities, proceeded while violence persisted in other parts of the nation. This included clashes in Sinaloa that resulted in casualties and the discovery of a kidnapped journalist's body in Veracruz, as well as a discovery of eight bodies in Chiapas.