Two U.S. Tourists Killed as Violence Escalates in Mexico’s Drug War 

United States: Two U.S. citizens who were shot and killed on Wednesday night in the western Mexico, in the town of Angamacutiro, Michoacán. Local officials say the area has been facing violence due to battles between drug gangs. This attack is part of a bigger problem of rising killings and kidnappings in the region. 

The couple, both of them believed to be residents of California and only known by their surnames Rafael C., 53, and María Gloria A., 50, arrived in late November to visit family for the holidays, according to Magdalena Guzmán, publicist for the Michoacán prosecutor. Mexican officials usually don’t disclose the identity of crime victims in a bid to avoid jeopardizing probes. 

As reported by The New York Times, crown prosecutor revealed that man was born in the United States while the woman was a naturalized American citizen originally from Mexico. Ms. He added that there was no initial detail as to why the couple had been attacked by the gunmen. 

It was from the security officers who found the couple’s car full of bullets parked on a street in Angamacutiro that the authorities got to know of the attack. There was the corpse of the woman, who passed away at the scene, according to some reports. 

The man was seriously injured but was alive and taken to a nearby hospital where he also succumbed to his injuries in the early hours of Thursday according to Ms. Guzmán. 

A spokesman with the United States Embassy which is situated in Mexico said that their officials “were aware of the situation” and monitoring it. The State Department said in a statement: Currently, we have received information on the tragic death of two American citizens in Michoacán State in Mexico. The situation is being investigated further and we are ready to provide consular help if required.” 

The confronting shooting came in the wake of a number of other blood-related incidents in Angamacutiro situated to the border of Guanajuato, one of the most dangerous states of Mexico, northwest of Mexico City. 

Around late October guys wielding AK-47s staged an elimination of the town’s police chief. The town’s former mayor Maribel Juárez Blanquet was kidnapped earlier this year and has not been found yet. Her brother who is a local congressman was assassinated in 2020.