An armed attack against a police checkpoint marked the beginning of 2026 in Michoacan. A municipal police officer was killed and another seriously wounded after a heavily armed group stormed into the municipality of Tocumbo in the first minutes of the New Year, in an area bordering the state of Jalisco. The attack occurred on the outskirts of the municipal seat, where local officers were manning a security checkpoint as part of the New Year's operation. The assailants, traveling in several pickup trucks, opened fire with assault rifles on the officers stationed at the bypass intersection, in front of the Hotel Casa Blanca, and fled after the exchange of gunfire. According to information released by Latin US, at least twenty armed men entered from Jalisco and surprised the municipal police officers, leaving two of them seriously wounded. Both were rushed to a regional hospital in the neighboring municipality of Los Reyes, where one of the officers died while receiving medical attention. According to reports from the weekly magazine Proceso, the deceased officer was identified as Javier Tenis Ceja, originally from the community of Pamatacuaro, while the wounded officer, Juan Carlos Pedro Ruiz, remains hospitalized in serious condition. A third officer who was at the scene was unharmed in the attack. A search operation was launched in the municipalities of Periban, Cotija, Tinguindin, and Los Reyes after the attackers threw metal objects onto the highway to facilitate their escape into Jalisco. No arrests have been reported so far. According to the newspaper Excelsior, state authorities attribute the attack to a cell of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, an organization engaged in a violent dispute for territorial control in this part of Michoacan. Other local criminal groups also operate in the area, which has led to an escalation of attacks against security forces in municipalities such as Tocumbo, Cotija, Periban and Los Reyes.

The recent violence adds to a serious history in the region. Last June, the commander of the Tocumbo Municipal Police was killed in an armed attack, and in May 2025, a landmine exploded as an Army and National Guard convoy passed through the municipality of Los Reyes, leaving eight soldiers dead.

Tocumbo, known nationally as the “World Capital of Popsicles” and recognized as a Pueblo Magico (Magical Town) for its artisan traditions and festivities that attract tourists and migrants, is thus facing a new episode of violence that contrasts sharply with its tourist and family-oriented vocation, amidst a security crisis that continues to affect western Michoacan.