Mayor shot dead in Mexico drug war flashpoint

Key Facts

March 11, 2022 / 7:26 AM / CBS/AFP Mexico villages arm kids to fight cartels Armed kids shine light on Mexico's drug cartel violence 06:40 Gunmen on Thursday killed the mayor of a town in Mexico's western state of Michoacan shaken by a deadly turf war between rival drug cartels, authorities said.
Michoacan is the world's biggest avocado-producing region and threats against a U.S. inspector working there last month prompted the United States to suspend Mexican exports of the fruit for about a week.
Five people were killed on Thursday in clashes between two armed groups in Michoacan, one of which seized a mayor's office in the village of Nuevo Parangaricutiro, prosecutors said.
Mexico has recorded more than 340,000 murders since launching a controversial anti-drug military operation in 2006, most of them blamed on fighting between criminals, according to official figures.