At Least 14 Killed in Hour-Long Gunfight Between Police, Mexican Cartel Gunmen - Reports

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st December, 2019) Four police officers and 10 suspected cartel gunmen were killed in an hour-long gunfight in Mexico's north, media reported Saturday.

Governor of northern state of Coahuila, Miguel Riquelme Solis, said that six more policemen were injured in the clash, as reported by Mexican newspaper El Universal.

The gunmen descended on the small town of Villa Union, about 27 miles from the border with the United States, in 14 vehicles some of which were outfitted with Barrett machine guns, El Universal cited Riquelme Solis as saying.

The alleged cartel gunmen attacked the mayor's office building, leaving the facade riddled with bullet holes, according to photographs published on the governor's Twitter account.

The gunfight took place on the same week as US President Donald Trump announced plans to label Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations. The move raised concerns among Mexican authorities, with the country's Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard proposing high-level meeting with the US.

Trump offered Mexico the help of the United States in launching a war against drug cartels earlier this month, following the killing of nine American Mormons in northern Mexico.