The death toll from the Mexico cartel shootout Friday was reported at 43 people, including 42 suspected gang gunmen and one Federal Police officer.
The Mexico cartel shootout took place at the private ranch named "Rancho del Sol" in the state of Jalisco. What was supposed to be a security raid at the 112-hectare ranch turned into a three-hour shootout between Mexican police and members of an alleged powerful drug cartel.
Federal police officers first tried to pull over a truck on the highway near the ranch, only to have members of the gang hiding in the truck open fire, Michoacan Gov. Salvador Jara told Radio Formula.
The Mexico cartel shootout is now known to be one of the deadliest gun battles in the history of modern Mexico because of the number of those killed, according to RT.
The Associated Press investigated the incident and found that several suspects died even after surrendering.
Gruesome photos from the bloodshed Friday has been released, showing dead bodies lying in fields and a patio with clothes, mattresses and sleeping bags. Some were holding semi-automatic rifles while others lie sans weapons.
The suspects from the Mexico cartel shootout were suspected to be members of "a criminal organization whose main operating zone is Jalisco state," according to National Security Commissioner Monte Alejandro Rubido.
There had been no mention of the Jalisco New Generation cartel by Rubido, but the area where the Mexico cartel shootout occurred is known to be dominated by the gang, reported The Chicago Tribune.
The Friday shootout comes after a series of unprecedented attacks by the cartel. One attack reportedly killed 15 police officers while the other involved a rocket launcher shooting down an army helicopter, a first in the history of Mexico.
If summed up, the deaths from all three attacks including the Mexico cartel shootout Friday amounts to at least 76 people.
Human rights officials and investigators are still working the scene Saturday.
A collection of firearms were retrieved from the ranch by police. Of these include a 36 semi-automatic rifles, a grenade launcher, a .50-calibre rifle, as well as some small firearms.
The identity of the suspects of the Mexico cartel shootout remains unconfirmed. Authorities believe the Jalisco cartel was most likely involved since the incident took place near La Barca, a town where more than five dozen bodies in mass graves, linked to the cartel, were found in 2013, according to The Associated Press.
Watch the Mexico cartel shootout here and here.
Here is a video report of the scene after the shootout.
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