Human Rights Groups in Mexico Claim Cartel Violence Causing Exodus in Michoacan

New drug cartel clashes have broken out in rural western Mexico, forcing hundreds of people to flee their homes as government authorities appear to turn a blind eye to the devastation. As the violence continues, human rights activists are calling on the Mexican government to not only restore peace but also to intervene to implement long-term solutions to the violence and forced displacement of the region's indigenous people.

Human Security Observatory and three other human rights groups called for help in a letter to Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and his top officials, as well as Michoacán Governor Alfredo Ramírez Bedoya. Activists report that 158 ​​people in the town of Coahuayana, 250 in the town of Aquirá, and many others fled their homes as soon as the violence began. The group claims that 17 people stayed in their homes to protect their belongings but have since gone missing.

Breitbart Texas reported that the clashes came as a handful of rival crime gangs teamed up with the Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) to fight other gangs posing as self-defense forces and seek support from government authorities. The various gangs are vying for control of lucrative drug-producing areas and cocaine smuggling routes into Mexico. The fight escalated into days of nonstop violence, with militants using armored vehicles, sophisticated weapons, mines, explosives, and drones to drop IEDS on their rivals.