Mexican troops kill cartel suspect Luis Enrique Barragan

Mexican soldiers killed Luis Enrique Barragan, an accused drug cartel leader who had a $3 million US bounty on his head, Mexico's government announced Tuesday.

Security Minister Omar Garcia Harfuch said Barragan, 39, and an associate opened fire on soldiers and National Guards in Tocumbo, a town in western Michoacan state, and died in the clash.

Garcia Harfuch said Barragan was a leader of Cartel de Los Reyes, a faction of Carteles Unidos, and led an extortion ring targeting avocado farmers in Michoacan.

The United States has classified Carteles Unidos as a foreign terrorist group. A US State Department page on Barragan and the bounty says he was indicted in Washington in 2023 on drug conspiracy and firearms offences.

The State Department page describes Barragan as “a well known sicario and combat leader” who used proceeds from sales of cocaine, fentanyl and other drugs in the United States to buy weapons for fighting the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, a rival group that moved into Michoacan. A sicario is a hit man.