Story highlights Shootout in the Mexican state of
Michoacan leaves 43 dead, officials
say 42 gunmen and one federal police
officer are killed It is unclear who the gunmen were Federal police officers in Michoacan

(CNN)—A three-hour shootout between Mexican security forces and
unidentified gunmen Friday left 42 of
the gunmen dead, as well as one
federal police officer, officials said. Three gunmen were arrested. The lengthy firefight erupted in the
town of Tanhuato, Michoacan state,
when a joint force of federal and
state security forces encountered the
gunmen in the course of an
investigation, Mexican National Security Commissioner Monte
Alejandro Rubido said at a news
conference. The gunmen belonged to a criminal
organization operating in the
neighboring state of Jalisco, Rubido
said, though he didn't name the
group. The commissioner's description of
the gunmen contradicts earlier
reports that described them as
"armed civilians." At least two news
agencies, Reuters and AFP, reported
that the confrontation was between security forces and civilians. They
cited unnamed Mexican officials. The governor or Michoacan, Salvador
Jara, said in television interview that
it is "very likely" that the shootout
involved the Jalisco New Generation
drug cartel. Rubido told reporters that the
confrontation was the result of an
investigation that began the previous
day. The investigation began
Thursday after a property located in
Tanhuato was taken over by a group of armed men. On Friday, Rubido said, as the joint
security forces drove toward the
property in question, they came
across a vehicle with armed men
who started firing when they saw the
officers. A chase ensued where the security
forces followed the gunmen into the
property that had allegedly been
invaded the day before, Rubido said. According to the commissioner, at
the property -- which he described
as a 275-acre stretch of land with a
main residence, a warehouse, and
agricultural buildings -- additional
gunmen entered the fray with "intensity." Backup to aid the security officers
arrived, including a federal police
helicopter, at which point the
gunmen spread throughout the
property, Rubido said. The confrontation stretched for
hours because of the size of the
property, Rubido said. There were at
least three standoffs in different parts
of the property, he said. This was a slightly different version
than what the mayor of Tanhuato
said in an earlier interview.
According to the mayor, there were
two different shootouts in different
locations. The death toll was 42 gunmen and
one federal police officer, who was
shot while providing aid to an
injured colleague, Rubido said. The three gunmen who were
arrested have been turned over to
state prosecutors, he said. In addition, the security forces seized
eight vehicles, six were inside the
warehouse and were burned when
the structure caught on fire, the
commissioner said. A photo of the burned-out vehicles
had been shared earlier on Twitter
by a group of citizens who monitor
violence in Michoacan. Authorities also seized 36 long arms,
two small arms, one grenade
launcher and an undetermined
number of ammunition, Rubido said.
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