Oct 25, V7N-Mexico continues to face escalating violence linked to organized crime, with clashes between security forces and criminal groups claiming at least 16 lives in the state of Guerrero on Thursday. The violence included two skirmishes near the Pacific coast, where Mexican military forces confronted gunmen. The initial clash in Tecpan de Galeana resulted in two deaths and four injuries, followed by a larger confrontation that killed 14 attackers after they targeted a military base. Guerrero, long plagued by cartel turf wars, remains one of Mexico's most violent regions, with nearly 1,900 murders recorded in 2022.

Further north, in the state of Guanajuato, a car bomb exploded outside a police station, injuring three officers and damaging nearby buildings. Guanajuato, an industrial hub and popular tourist destination, has seen rising violence due to ongoing conflicts between the local Santa Rosa de Lima gang and the powerful Jalisco New Generation cartel. Authorities have launched air and ground operations in response to the violence.

Nationwide, more than 450,000 drug-related deaths have occurred since the government began deploying military forces to combat cartels in 2006. Newly inaugurated President Claudia Sheinbaum has vowed to continue a strategy aimed at addressing the root causes of crime through social policy, while enhancing intelligence operations. She reaffirmed that the controversial "war on drugs" approach, initiated in 2006, will not return.

In another hotspot, the northwestern state of Sinaloa, violence has intensified since the July arrest of cartel leader Ismael Zambada. Infighting has erupted within the Sinaloa Cartel, particularly between factions loyal to Zambada and those backing Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman’s sons, leading to further bloodshed. Earlier this week, Mexican troops killed 19 suspected cartel members in Sinaloa. Zambada, detained in the U.S., has accused Joaquin Guzman Lopez, one of El Chapo’s sons, of betraying him and facilitating his capture.

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