Shooting in gang-plagued Mexican state leaves 9 dead

A shooting left nine dead and two wounded at a bar in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato, which has increasingly suffered from cartel violence, local authorities said Thursday.

An armed group arrived at the bar around 9 p.m. Wednesday in the town of Apaseo el Alto, outside of Celaya, and opened fire on those inside, authorities said in a statement.

Five men and four women were killed in the gunfire and two more women were hurt, the town said. The injured women were in stable condition.

The assailants had not yet been identified, officials said, adding that units of state and federal authorities as well as the National Guard would be moved into the area.

The town said two posters "alluding to a criminal group" were left at the scene. In Mexico, cartels frequently leave messages after killings for other groups or authorities.

Guanajuato, an industrial hub, has been ravaged by turf wars between cartels in recent years. Last month, 12 were killed at a bar in the city of Irapuato, following a nearby shooting that left 10 dead in September.

Mexico's president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, took office in 2018 promising to reduce cartel violence. Homicides have dropped slightly in 2022, though Lopez Obrador's term is on track to be the deadliest in modern history.