Five Mexican police officers were shot dead and five others wounded in Michoacan state on the eve of the World Cup opener in Mexico City. The attack occurred Wednesday in the municipality of Nahuatzen.
The officers were traveling in a pickup truck when unknown assailants opened fire in an Indigenous region plagued by cartel violence. The state government identified the slain officers as Porfirio Rodriguez Briseno, Brandon Josue Zamora Torres, Francisco Javier Otero Damas, Jonatan Mondragon Servin and Mateo Valdez Abarca.
The area is controlled by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, known as CJNG. Mexico is co-hosting the World Cup with Canada and the United States, and the government has stated there is no security threat to visiting fans.
The U.S. Embassy noted that safety risks vary by region. Police are searching for the perpetrators of the attack.
