In recent days there has been more violence along a major thoroughfare in northern Sonora.
Starting over the weekend, several violent incidents left at least three dead near the northern Sonoran cities of Magdalena and Imuris. Both are along the state’s most important highway, and two gas stations on the roadway were also damaged, according to Public Security Commissar Alfonso Novoa.
In response to reports of armed men in the area, state police and military forces started patrolling the international highway, which many Arizonans use to reach Hermosillo and San Carlos, according to a Monday tweet from the state police.
The area has seen several high-profile acts of violence over the last year, including a major shootout along that interstate in May that left a former Magdalena mayor and several others dead.