Whack-a-mole Drug War: Mass Arrest in Mexico Exposes Familia's Internal Divide

From the website, Insight - Organized Crime in the Americas, the most detailed analysis that we have seen of what is happening with the cartel La Familia in Michoacan and Jalisco, in western Mexico.

Mass Arrest in Mexico Exposes Familia's Internal Divide: "With Mexican security forces' arrest of 36 alleged members of the Familia Michoacana drug trafficking organization, and the deaths of another 15, the rift between two leaders of the group has spilled into public view.

The confrontation with authorities took place along the Jalisco-Michaocan state border. A large group of forces belonging to Jose de Jesus Mendez, alias 'El Chango,' had gathered there for an assault on the Knights Templar, the newly minted gang of Servando Gomez, alias 'La Tuta,' the authorities said.

This came after a May 24 attack on a government helicopter in Apatzingan, where authorities say Gomez's group has its stronghold. Another helicopter crashed in the area on May 28, which authorities attributed to mechanical difficulties.

The two groups are fighting for control of a lucrative methamphetamine corridor."