10 gunmen dead in clash with Mexico security forces

The shootout occurred during a joint patrol by police and military personnel in the central industrial region, which has become a battleground for warring drug cartels.

Initially, the Guanajuato state security department reported eight gunmen killed but later confirmed two additional bodies with gunshot wounds. "With this discovery, it is confirmed that there are 10 members (of a criminal group) neutralized," the department stated.

According to officials, security personnel used "legitimate and proportional force" during the operation. Three police officers sustained non-life-threatening injuries. A dozen firearms, several stolen vehicles, and ballistic vests were seized from the scene.

Guanajuato has been a hotspot for drug-related violence, driven by conflict between the local Santa Rosa de Lima gang and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of Mexico's most powerful criminal organizations.

Since the Mexican government began deploying the army to combat drug trafficking in 2006, more than 450,000 people have been killed, according to official figures.

Despite the escalating violence, newly elected President Claudia Sheinbaum has ruled out declaring war on cartels. Instead, she advocates continuing social policies aimed at addressing the root causes of crime while improving intelligence operations. Sheinbaum, who assumed office on October 1 as Mexico's first female president, faces growing pressure to curb cartel violence.

Gang-related violence remains a persistent challenge in Guanajuato and across Mexico, with no immediate signs of abating.