At Least 7 Dead In Bar Shooting In Mexico

[HuffingtonPost]

CIUDAD JUAREZ, March 29 (Reuters) - Seven people were killed  when a gunman opened fire in the early hours of Friday in a bar  in northern Mexico, which has seen a resurgence in drug-related  violence in recent weeks.                

The man, armed with an AK-47 assault rifle, killed four men  who were clients in the bar in Chihuahua state as well as three  women who worked there, said a spokesman for the state attorney  general's office.                

"It has not been determined whether the attack is connected  to drug trafficking, but by the type of weapon involved, it is  to be assumed," said spokesman Carlos Gonzalez.                

The attack occurred in the city of Chihuahua, the capital of  the state that is also home to Ciudad Juarez, considered one of  the most violent cities in the world until recently.                

The attacker entered the bar with his face covered by a  bandana, said the spokesman.                

Chihuahua has seen heavy fighting between the local Juarez  cartel and the Sinaloa cartel, led by Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman,  who is seeking to control the city that is one of the main  routes for trafficking drugs into the United States.                

In spite of a change of government in December and a new  strategy that avoids direct confrontation with the powerful  cartels, violence in Mexico has picked up in recent weeks with  fighting along the border, in the western state of Michoacan and   the tourist destination of Cancun.                

Nearly 3,200 people have been killed in drug-related  violence during the first three months of President Enrique Pena  Nieto's government, according to Mexican government data.                

During the government of his predecessor Felipe Calderon  (2006-2012), almost 70,000 people died as a result of the drug  trade and 27,000 disappeared in one of the most violent periods  in Mexico's history.     (Reporting by Julian Cardona; editing by Christopher Wilson)

Via: HuffingtonPost