The area surrounding Uruapan, in the Mexican state of Michoacan, has been the focus of ongoing violence from drug trafficking since at least 2006. The following images chronicle the history of that extremely graphic violence.
Drugs bring violence to Uruapan, Mexico —
The area surrounding Uruapan, in the Mexican state of Michoacan, has been the focus of ongoing violence from drug trafficking since at least 2006. The following images chronicle the history of that extremely graphic violence.
The bodies of seven men arranged in chairs are pictured in Uruapan, in the Mexican state of Michoacan, on March 23. The men were shot in the head with threat messages nailed to some of their chests using ice picks.
Drugs bring violence to Uruapan, Mexico —
The bodies of seven men arranged in chairs are pictured in Uruapan, in the Mexican state of Michoacan, on March 23. The men were shot in the head with threat messages nailed to some of their chests using ice picks.
Stringer/Reuters/Landov
Delivery trucks from the Mexican snacks company Sabritas burn after assailants set them on fire at a warehouse in Lazaro Cardenas, in the Mexican state of Michoacan, on May 26, 2012. At least three warehouses and 28 vehicles were damaged in a series of coordinated arson attacks against the company in the towns of Lazaro Cardenas, Uruapan and Apatzingan. Drug cartel members posted banners saying the snack company let law enforcement agents use its trucks for surveillance, a charge the company denied.
Drugs bring violence to Uruapan, Mexico —
Delivery trucks from the Mexican snacks company Sabritas burn after assailants set them on fire at a warehouse in Lazaro Cardenas, in the Mexican state of Michoacan, on May 26, 2012. At least three warehouses and 28 vehicles were damaged in a series of coordinated arson attacks against the company in the towns of Lazaro Cardenas, Uruapan and Apatzingan. Drug cartel members posted banners saying the snack company let law enforcement agents use its trucks for surveillance, a charge the company denied.
REUTERS /STR /LANDOV
A car burns after several clashes between federal agents and allegedly hired killers in Michoacan on July 7, 2011. The clashes took place in Apatzingan, Uruapan and Maravatio.
Drugs bring violence to Uruapan, Mexico —
A car burns after several clashes between federal agents and allegedly hired killers in Michoacan on July 7, 2011. The clashes took place in Apatzingan, Uruapan and Maravatio.
EPA/QUADRATIN /LANDOV
Suspect Erika Garcia, a police officer, is presented to the media after she was arrested by troops in Uruapan, on February 27, 2011. Garcia was arrested after soldiers stopped a convoy of three luxury vehicles carrying her and suspected drug traffickers at a military checkpoint, according to local media.
Drugs bring violence to Uruapan, Mexico —
Suspect Erika Garcia, a police officer, is presented to the media after she was arrested by troops in Uruapan, on February 27, 2011. Garcia was arrested after soldiers stopped a convoy of three luxury vehicles carrying her and suspected drug traffickers at a military checkpoint, according to local media.
Leovigildo Gonzalez/reuters/Landov
Mexican federal police officers inspect the charred wreckage of a car used to make a barricade blocking the Apatzingan-Uruapan road in Michoacan on December 11, 2010. Gunmen from the La Familia drug cartel blocked several roads in the state during a confrontation with the federal police, according to the state government.
Drugs bring violence to Uruapan, Mexico —
Mexican federal police officers inspect the charred wreckage of a car used to make a barricade blocking the Apatzingan-Uruapan road in Michoacan on December 11, 2010. Gunmen from the La Familia drug cartel blocked several roads in the state during a confrontation with the federal police, according to the state government.
ALFREDO ESTRELLA/AFP/Getty Images
Police walk near a victim of a shootout between the drug cartels La Familia and Los Zetas in Uruapan on December 14, 2009.
Drugs bring violence to Uruapan, Mexico —
Police walk near a victim of a shootout between the drug cartels La Familia and Los Zetas in Uruapan on December 14, 2009.
Stringer/Reuters/Landaov
Workers unearth the bodies of three unidentified people whose killings are believed to be related to drug trafficking, according to the state police department, in Uruapan on Janurary 4, 2007.
Drugs bring violence to Uruapan, Mexico —
Workers unearth the bodies of three unidentified people whose killings are believed to be related to drug trafficking, according to the state police department, in Uruapan on Janurary 4, 2007.
Alejandro Vivanco/ AFP/Getty Images
A man stands in front of the "Sun and Shadow" nightclub, where gunmen in ski masks rolled five severed heads onto the dance floor, on the edge of the city of Uruapan on September 7, 2006.
Drugs bring violence to Uruapan, Mexico —
A man stands in front of the "Sun and Shadow" nightclub, where gunmen in ski masks rolled five severed heads onto the dance floor, on the edge of the city of Uruapan on September 7, 2006.
Tomas Bravo/Reuters/Landov