Mexican policeman (archive image)
Photo: STRINGER / MEXICO / REUTERS
Suspected drug cartel members killed at least 13 police officers in Mexico.
A patrolling convoy was ambushed on Thursday in the central Mexican community of Coatepec Harinas and attacked, according to spokesmen for the prosecutor and the police.
The police officers were involved in the fight against organized crime groups active in the area - about 140 kilometers southwest of Mexico City.
The authorities have not yet given any further details about the background and the course of the attack.
Almost 100 murders - a day
Mexico has experienced immense violence since the so-called drug war broke out in late 2006.
In the country with around 126 million inhabitants, more than 82,000 people are now considered to have disappeared.
In addition, almost 100 murders are recorded - every day.
For comparison: according to official figures, there were 245 in Germany for the whole of 2019.
It is not uncommon for security forces to be killed by criminals: as recently as October, armed attackers attacked a police patrol in the central Mexican state of Zacatecas and killed 14 people.
Almost a year earlier, police officers were ambushed in Michoacán state, killing more than a dozen emergency services.
The bloodshed in Mexico is largely due to cartels and gangs that are involved in drug smuggling into neighboring USA, but also make money through kidnapping and extortion.
They often have connections with security forces.
Only about three percent of the crimes reported in Mexico are solved according to figures from the think tank IEP.
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mxw / dpa