MORELIA: Gunmen suspected of being on the payroll of drug traffickers attacked a checkpoint manned by vigilantes in the western Mexican state of Michoacan, killing two men, state prosecutors said.
The attack occurred on Sunday morning in the city of Tancitaro, where gunmen opened fire with assault rifles on the vigilantes, the Michoacan Attorney General’s Office said.
Two members of the vigilante groups formed in February 2013 to fight the Caballeros Templarios drug cartel died in the attack.
The Federal Police and army launched an operation in Tancitaro, an avocado-growing center, to find the gunmen, who may belong to the Caballeros Templarios, the AG’s office said.
The Caballeros Templarios cartel was created in 2010 by former members of the Familia Michoacana organization.
The cartel, which deals in both synthetic and natural drugs, commits murders, stages kidnappings and runs extortion rackets that target business owners and transport companies in Michoacan.
The first vigilante group was formed in Michoacan on Feb. 24, 2013, to fight the Caballeros Templarios.
President Enrique Peña Nieto sent troops and Federal Police units into Michoacan in January 2014 to end the conflict between the cartel and the vigilantes.
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