One of Mexico’s highest ranking military officials was killed at the weekend in an ambush on a rural road in the western state of Michoacan, where the president has sent armed forces to regain control of areas dominated by warring drug cartels.
Assailants armed with high-calibre rifles killed Vice Admiral Carlos Salazar, who commanded the naval base at the Pacific beach resort of Puerto Vallarta, along with another officer, the Mexican navy said in a statement.
The authorities have now detained three alleged members of the Knights Templar gang in connection with the killing.
The attack, which happened near the town of Churintzio, comes days after two police officers were killed in another ambush.
The men were attacked after they were diverted off the motorway running between the state capital of Michoacan and Guadalajara, and onto a country road.
Gunmen then opened fire on the car, killing the admiral and his bodyguard. The admiral’s wife and his driver were injured.
Local media reported a group of demonstrators had blocked the highway. Michoacan has seen a surge of protests and armed vigilante groups that have risen up this year, claiming authorities are failing to stop gang violence and extortion.
President Enrique Pena Nieto admitted last week that organized crime controlled areas of Michoacan, but he pledged to restore order in the same state were his predecessor Felipe Calderon launched his military campaign against drug gangs.
Pena Nieto came to power last December promising to reduce violent crime. Seventy-thousand people are estimated to have died in drug-related violence in Mexico since 2007.
