(NewsNation) — Thirteen suspected drug cartel members were killed during a shootout with police in the Mexican state of Sinaloa on Monday.
Security Minister Omar Garcia Harfuch announced in a social media post that in addition to the 13 killed, four people involved in the shootout were detained, and nine others who had been kidnapped were freed.
Garcia Harfuch said that the shootout took place after Mexican authorities were “attacked by an armed group hidden under a bridge.” He also confirmed that several vehicles, weapons and tactical equipment were secured following the shootout.
The state, home to the infamous Sinaloa cartel, has experienced a large amount of violence over the past year between factions of the cartel and authorities as they attempt to take back control of the area, as reported by Reuters.
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Since starting his second term, President Donald Trump has made it a priority to stop the flow of illegal drugs into the U.S. from Mexico and other Latin American countries.
In February of this year, the Department of State officially designated the Sinaloa cartel, along with seven other Latin American gangs, as “Foreign Terrorist Organizations.”
“It is one of the world’s most powerful drug cartels and is one of the largest producers and traffickers of fentanyl and other illicit drugs to the United States. Cártel de Sinaloa has used violence to murder, kidnap, and intimidate civilians, government officials, and journalists,” the Department of State press release reads.