A late-night outing at a venue for clandestine cockfights in Mexico ended in a massacre Sunday after gunmen burst into the establishment and killed at least 19 people.
Authorities believe the shooting may have been motivated by “revenge” by a cell of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel against another in the area and are currently searching for the perpetrators, per CBS.
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“At approximately 10:30 p.m., the Prosecutor’s Office was informed of the attack perpetrated against those attending a palenque that was being held in that town,” the State Attorney General’s Office said in a statement. “Similarly, there it was reported that in said attack several people were injured and that they had been channeled to hospitals, for which the Institution’s staff is already verifying the information.”
Three women and 16 men died in Sunday night’s shooting. Several attendees were injured during the incident and were transported to local hospitals, according to authorities.
The incident took place at Las Tinajas, in Michoacan state, which is one of the most violent states in Mexico and home to bloody turf wars between gangs. Earlier this month, gunmen murdered the mayor of a town in Michoacan, according to CBS.
The powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel has been aggressively battling local groups for domination of key drug routes in Michoacan, according to Reuters. In 2018, the Justice Department described the cartel as one of the top five most “dangerous transnational criminal organizations in the world.”
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Cockfights are illegal in certain parts of Mexico, such as Mexico City, but are often tolerated in some municipalities. They typically take place in clandestine settings and involve two roosters fighting to the death or until they develop debilitating injuries in pits called palenques.
