A bloody gunfight broke out in the Northeast state of Coahuila in Mexico on Monday, December 2nd and claimed the lives of twenty-three people. The gunfight broke out in the small town of Villa Union which is just about an hour’s drive south of Texas’ border.

The attack began when a pack of heavily armed trucks rode up to the local mayor’s office and began firing shots at it.

Among those who died were four police officers, two civilians, and seventeen suspected cartel gunmen. After the gunfight ended, twenty-five vehicles, long-range weapons, and thousands of rounds of ammunition were confiscated while the shootout only lasted an hour and a half.

The amount of organized crime being planned by the cartel is constantly increasing and Mexico is recording a record number of homicides this year according to CNN. This crisis comes right after an attack on a Mormon community in Mexico by the cartel which claimed the lives of nine women and children.

President Trump said he offered the Mexican government to label the Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations and “go in and clean it out,” but the proposal was declined. Despite the US efforts to try and help, Mexican president Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador has shown no signs of wanting US intervention with their fight against the cartel.