At least 26 killed in 'horrendous' arson attack on bar in Mexico

Published Aug 28, 2019

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COATZACOALCOS - At least 26 people

were killed in an arson attack by suspected gang members on a

bar in the southern Mexican port of Coatzacoalcos late on

Tuesday, authorities said, in a fresh blow to the government's

efforts to curb violence.

Calling the attack "horrendous," President Andres Manuel

Lopez Obrador said at a regular news briefing on Wednesday that

the deaths occurred after the suspected gangsters closed the

emergency exits of the bar in Coatzacoalcos and set fire to it.

The attack was one of the worst mass killings since the

veteran leftist Lopez Obrador took office in December pledging

to pacify Mexico by battling corruption and inequality.

So far, however, the number of murders has continued to rise

after hitting record levels in 2018.

The attorney general's office of the state of Veracruz said

in a statement that ten women and 16 men died in the "Caballo

Blanco" bar, while another 11 people who were injured were being

treated at nearby hospitals.

Meanwhile, Veracruz state governor Cuitlahuac Garcia

suggested in a post on Twitter that the attack was the result of

a dispute between local gangs.

Veracruz, a major transit point for drugs making their way

north towards the U.S. border, has long been convulsed by

violent turf wars between organized crime groups.

While saying he did not want to blame previous governments,

Lopez Obrador nevertheless pointed to past policies for laying

the groundwork for the crime.

"This is the rotten fruit of the economic policy that was

imposed, the policy of pillage," the president said.

Lopez Obrador said that initial investigations indicated

some suspects behind the attack had been in custody this year

and were later released, criticizing the state attorney general,

who was appointed by a previous, rival administration.

In a statement, the attorney general's office rejected that

suggestion and said the events of Tuesday night should "not be

used to distort facts or confuse public opinion."

Some Mexican media reports said that gunmen had fired shots

on the bar before setting it ablaze with Molotov cocktails.

Tuesday's attack follows one in April on another bar in

Veracruz in the city of Minatitlan that killed 13 people.

In August 2011, more than 50 people were killed in the

northern city of Monterrey when gang members torched a casino. 

Reuters

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