It was still daylight when a Mexican military patrol was attacked on the city streets, leading to what authorities described as a fierce firefight with a heavily armed gang. Except the violence Thursday unfolded in Mexico City, which has generally been spared the mass killings, cartel savagery and street battles of the country’s drug wars. Mexico City, home of the nation’s political and economic elite, often appeared on a distinct orbit from the turbulent constellation of narco states near the U.S. border and elsewhere. Mexico City has a serious crime problem, but it had rarely experienced anything like this. On the political front, a wave of criticism and ridicule greeted Mexico City Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera and his insistence that cartels did not operate in the city.

Source: Los Angeles Times July 21, 2017 23:26 UTC