Six arrests in southern Mexico after violence that uproots 4,000 people

The Chiapas prosecutor’s office said on Saturday that authorities had “rescued 4,187 people” who had “hidden in their homes after acts of violence” and taken them to shelters.

Two people were found dead, including a minor. At least 17 houses and shops were set on fire. More than 20 vehicles were also burned out or damaged.

Prosecutors confirmed late Sunday that six people had been arrested in the area with unlicensed firearms.

The newspaper Reforma reported that armed men were walking around shouting for all young people in the area to report to them “to join criminal gangs.”

Violence in Chiapas has escalated due to fighting between the Jalisco New Generation and Sinaloa cartels – Mexico’s two largest criminal gangs.

According to the think tank InSight Crime, the cartels are fighting over drug smuggling routes and control over other criminal activities, such as extortion.

In Mexico, more than 450,000 murders have been recorded since 2006, when the government deployed the military to combat drug trafficking. Most of the killings have been attributed to criminal gangs.

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