In a brutal attack early Sunday, December 17, 2023, gunmen targeted a Christmas party of approximately 50 people in Salvatierra, Guanajuato, Mexico, resulting in the deaths of 12 individuals and wounding at least 11 others. This violent event is part of a worrying pattern of increased violence during this year’s holiday season.
The attack took place at the Ex Hacienda San José del Carmen event hall, where assailants burst into a posada, a customary Christmas gathering. The young attendees, mostly aged between 17 and 35, became the primary targets of the gunfire.
Witnesses in Salvatierra recounted how the gunmen infiltrated the event hall via a side entrance, shooting at the crowd gathered in the central courtyard and igniting fires before escaping. Two of the injured were reportedly in critical condition.
Concurrently, in the neighboring city of Salamanca, four more individuals were found dead under mysterious circumstances, increasing the overall death toll to 16.
Known for its key role in the automotive and aeronautics industries, Guanajuato has been marred by an alarming increase in homicide rates, often linked to rivalries between major drug cartels, including groups affiliated with the Jalisco and Sinaloa cartels.
In the wake of these attacks, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador demanded the resignation of the state prosecutor of Guanajuato, pointing to the rampant violence.
Elsewhere, in Tulum, Quintana Roo, a separate violent incident at a bar resulted in three deaths and four injuries. This attack, suspected to be connected to the local drug scene, has led to a travel advisory from the U.S. State Department for the Mexican Caribbean, urging tourists to be extra cautious.
Salvatierra’s Mayor, German Cervantes, publicly condemned the recent violence and pledged full cooperation with the prosecutor’s office in their ongoing investigation, which is exploring the possible involvement of the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel, indicated by the links of one party attendee to a rival cartel.
Efforts are ongoing by authorities to apprehend those responsible for these acts of violence.
