At least 14 killed in bloody gunfight in northern Mexico

MEXICO CITY: Ten suspected cartel gunmen and four police were killed during a daytime shootout on Saturday in a Mexican town near the US border.

The government of the northern state of Coahuila said state police clashed with a group of heavily armed gunmen riding in pickup trucks in the small town of Villa Union, about 40 miles (65 km) southwest of the border city of Piedras Negras.

Standing outside the Villa Union mayor’s bullet-ridden offices, Coahuila governor Miguel Angel Riquelme told reporters the state had acted “decisively” to tackle the gunmen, who he said had entered from the neighboring state of Tamaulipas.

Riquelme said 10 gunmen had been killed, three of them by officers in pursuit of the gang members after the gunfight that claimed the lives of four police and wounded six more.

Around midday, heavy gunfire began ringing out in Villa Union, and a convoy of armed pickup trucks could be seen moving around the town, according to video clips posted by social media users. Others showed plumes of smoke rising from the town.

Reuters could not vouch for their authenticity.

An unspecified number of people were also missing, including some who were at the mayor’s office, the governor said.

Riquelme said authorities had identified 14 vehicles involved in the attacks and seized more than a dozen guns.

In an interview aired on Tuesday, Trump said he planned to designate the cartels as terrorist organizations, sparking concerns the move could serve as a prelude to the United States trying to intervene unilaterally in Mexico.

US Attorney General William Barr is due to visit Mexico next week to discuss cooperation over security.