The wave of cartel violence that community and human rights groups say is being driven by Los Ardillos has sent between 800 and 1,000 families fleeing rural mountainous areas in Mexico’s Guerrero state, with attacks escalating quickly over a matter of days, according to People’s Indigenous Council of Guerrero – Emiliano Zapata, known as CIPOG-EZ. The displacement began Wednesday, groups said, when Los Ardillos started fiercely attacking communities in a conflict-torn region.
In interviews and statements relayed through CIPOG-EZ, local leaders described the violence as sudden and overwhelming. Videos shared with The Associated Press showed families leaving their homes early Sunday, on Mother’s Day, cloaked in darkness with only backpacks, community groups said. Other images shared with the wire service showed heavy gunfire echoing over farms and drones rigged with explosives laying in the brush.
Marina Velasco, a representative for CIPOG-EZ, said the assault marked “days of terror.” Velasco said Los Ardillos had been “bombing communities with drones” and asked how people could defend themselves “with bombs falling from the sky.” Velasco also said that while there is a small presence of state actors, communities like these have largely been “abandoned” by Mexican forces in the face of attacks from criminal groups.
Community and local religious organizations said Los Ardillos has sought to take over land for years, in a territory dispute against a patchwork of rival criminal groups. They said the broader conflict has left civilians exposed as cartel operations intensify, including through the use of drones and other weapons.
Velasco said families fled to nearby towns, where many were taking refuge, including in a soccer field. CIPOG-EZ also said at least one person was injured during the violence, and that its documentation of the conflict in the region includes 76 people killed in recent years and 25 others who have gone missing.
The flare-up in Guerrero comes as Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has moved to crack down on cartels more aggressively than her predecessor, according to AP reporting. The wire service said Sheinbaum’s push has coincided with a sharp dip in homicides—around 40%—though it was also described as “roiled” by a number of scandals in recent weeks.
The conflict has also drawn attention in the political relationship between Mexico and the United States, AP said. The wire service reported that President Donald Trump has threatened to take military action against the groups, which Sheinbaum has called “unnecessary,” while local communities in Guerrero described a situation in which they are facing attacks and displacement with limited protection on the ground.