Authorities believe cartel members targeting rivals were behind two separate shooting attacks at two bars which left 16 people dead over the weekend in the north-central state of Queretaro and the neighboring State of Mexico.
Four gunmen late Saturday evening killed ten people and wounded 13 at the Los Cantaritos bar in downtown Queretaro, the capital of the state of the same name.
One of the deceased, a member of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (Spanish abbr: CJNG), was the apparent target.
Most of the other victims were bar patrons.
The vehicle the gunmen used was found torched. One suspect was later arrested.
The mayor of Queretaro, Felipe Fernando Macias, confirmed the attack was the work of a rival cartel.
President Claudia Sheinbaum also stated in a news conference that a single person inside the bar was the intended target.
To prevent more attacks, Macias ordered the temporary closure of 20 other bars and nightclubs in Queretaro. All of the bars ordered closed are reportedly owned by the proprietor of the Los Cantaritos bar.
Some of the shuttered bars are located in downtown Queretaro, though at least one, Sala de Despecho, is located inside the upscale Antea shopping mall in the neighborhood of Jurica in northern Queretaro.
The Antea shopping mall is located next to Juriquilla, the upmarket district of Queretaro home to numerous business-class hotels, restaurants and high-rise condominiums popular with corporate expats.
The mayor also announced the implementation of a permanent police supervision plan for local bars and nightclubs, though he did not provide specifics.
The CJNG, the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel (Spanish abbr: CSRL) and the Sinaloa Cartel are currently engaged in a three-cornered struggle for control of drug trafficking and other illegal activity in the state of Guanajuato, which neighbors Queretaro to the west.
It is possible that cartel violence from Guanajuato, Mexico’s bloodiest state, has spilled over into Queretaro, long considered one of the country’s safest cities.
A similar shooting attack late Sunday evening at a bar in the San Francisco Tepojaco district in the western portion of the municipality of Cuautitlan Izcalli in the State of Mexico left six people dead and another 12 wounded.
Several gunmen reportedly forced their way into the Bling Bling bar before firing indiscriminately at patrons.
Messages posted on social media apparently identified two male customers who frequented the establishment as the intended targets of the attack.
Almost certainly the two men were members of a cartel or organized crime gang.
The CJNG, the Familia Michoacana (Spanish abbr: FM) cartel and at least 25 lower-level street gangs are present in the State of Mexico, where extortion of local businesses is endemic.
Cuautitlan Izcalli is one of the most affected municipalities in the state.
Attacks against bars, restaurants and resorts are common throughout Mexico. Some are staged as reprisals against rivals, others to extort owners or enforce demands for narcotics distribution rights.
Shooting attacks at two bars left seven people dead in early October in the city of Celaya in the central state of Guanajuato.
Gunmen on 4 October killed three employees at the Belfast Bar in downtown Celaya.
The shooting occurred while the employees were preparing to open, with no patrons inside the establishment at the time.
The following day, a shooting at a Codigo Postal 19 bar in downtown Celaya left four people dead and another wounded.
Codigo Postal 19, a popular chain of sports bars, had previously shuttered four bars in Celaya in March 2022 after an attack at one location left five people dead.
On 27 June, gunmen killed five people in Bar Life, in Celaya.
Foreigners rarely are targeted by the gangs. They are at risk, however, if they are in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Forays to local restaurants and bars to sample nightlife in Guanajuato are discouraged in the strongest possible terms.
Visitors to Guanajuato should patronize only bars and restaurants at business-class hotels.
