Drug War Bloodshed: 23 Killed in West Mexico as Familia Rivals Battle

From "Insight-Organized Crime in the Americas"

23 Killed in West Mexico as Familia Rivals Battle: "Twenty-three people were killed in the Mexican state of Michoacan in one weekend, as the split between different leaders of the Familia Michoacana continued to exact a bloody price.

The bodies were accompanied by notes from the Caballeros Templarios (Knights Templar), a Familia offshoot connected to Servando Gomez, alias 'La Tuta.' The notes accused the dead of supporting Jose de Jesus Mendez Vargas, alias 'El Chango,' who heads the portion of the group still calling itself the Familia.

The first nine bodies were discovered early Saturday morning in the port city of Lazaro Cardenas..."