6 dead in shooting attack on Mexico drug rehab center

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Gunmen shot to death five men and one woman at a privately-run drug rehabilitation center in wester Mexico, authorities said Monday.

The prosecutors’ office in the western state of Jalisco said the attack occurred around midnight in Tlaquepaque, a suburb of the state capital, Guadalajara. Jalisco is home to the drug cartel of the same name, and has been plagued for years by violence between rival factions of the cartel in Guadalajara.

The office said that several people were involved in the attack, but did not offer information on a motive.

Drug gangs in Mexico have attacked rehab centers in the past, usually to kill drug users or dealers allied with rival gangs. In 2020, in the neighboring state of Guanajuato, gunmen killed 27 people at a rehab center.

Mexico has long had problems with rehab centers because most are privately run, underfunded and often commit abuses against recovering addicts. The government spends relatively little money on rehabilitation, often making the unregistered centers the only option available for poor families.

In addition, addicts and dealers who face attacks from rivals on the streets sometimes take refuge at the rehab clinics, making the clinics themselves targets for attack.

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