Eight killed in Mexico in foiled drug gang rescue

7 mins ago

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Six police and two jail guards were killed in Mexico on Saturday when gunmen tried to free drug cartel suspects from a prison convey, the latest in the country's increasingly violent drug conflict.

Police in the western state of Nayarit came under attack as they drove out of an airport where they had picked up nine suspected members the Beltran Leyva cartel, including senior member Jeronimo Gamez, known as "The Cousin", the public security ministry said.

The gunmen failed to free the prisoners and escaped in three trucks, the ministry said.

The bold attack came two days after U.S. President Barack Obama visited Mexico and pledged to step up the fight against ruthless drug cartels waging turf wars along the joint border.

Gamez was arrested in late January and is accused of organizing purchases of cocaine from Colombia for the Beltran Leyva gang, one of Mexico's most violent.

Mexico is struggling to contain a surge in drug violence that killed 6,300 people in Mexico last year and is starting to spill over into the United States.

Last year, two anti-drug agents were jailed for taking bribes of up to $500,000 from the Beltran Leyva cartel,

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