Between 800 and 1,000 families have been forced to abandon their homes in central Mexico's mountains after the criminal group Los Ardillos launched attacks using drone-dropped explosives and heavy weapons, community and human rights organizations reported Sunday. Thousands of people, including children and the elderly, fled with little more than what they could carry on their backs.
The wave of violence in Guerrero state began Wednesday when Los Ardillos intensified its assault on communities in a rural mountainous region. Families said the latest attacks represent an escalation after years of mounting violence. At least one person was injured, according to the People's Indigenous Council of Guerrero – Emiliano Zapata, or CIPOG-EZ.
Terror From Above
Videos captured families fleeing their homes early Sunday morning on Mother's Day, moving under cover of darkness with only backpacks. Other images shared with The Associated Press showed heavy gunfire echoing over farms and drones rigged with explosives lying in the brush.
Marina Velasco, a representative for CIPOG-EZ, described the situation starkly: "These have been days of terror," adding, "They've been bombing communities with drones, and how can one defend themselves from a drone, with bombs falling from the sky."
Years of Abandonment
Community groups and local religious organizations said Los Ardillos have sought to take over the land for years in their battle for territory with other rival criminal groups. Velasco said displaced families have fled to nearby towns, where many now take refuge in a soccer field. She said that while there is a small presence of state actors, communities like these have largely been "abandoned" by Mexican forces in the face of attacks from criminal groups.
Mexico's federal government and local state authorities in Guerrero did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mounting Death Toll
CIPOG-EZ has documented 76 people in the region slain by the conflict with the group in recent years, and 25 more who have gone missing. Cartels have been using drones and more elaborate weapons for years to wage war, a sign of how entrenched the conflict is in regions like Guerrero, where cartels have splintered into rival factions. Increasingly, communities have taken up arms themselves to fight back against groups like Los Ardillos.
Political Context
The bloodshed comes as Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has come down more heavily on cartels than her predecessor as she has faced mounting pressure from President Donald Trump, who has threatened to take military action against the groups, which Sheinbaum has called "unnecessary." The push by Sheinbaum has resulted in a sharp dip in homicides, around 40%, since she took office, a figure which the government has boasted even as it's been roiled by a number of scandals in recent weeks.
Why This Matters:
The forced displacement of up to 1,000 families in Guerrero exposes the human cost of state failure to protect vulnerable rural and indigenous communities from organized crime. When families must flee drone attacks on Mother's Day with nothing but backpacks, it reveals a breakdown in the fundamental social contract between government and citizens. The documentation of 76 killings and 25 disappearances by community organizations highlights how civil society has stepped in to record abuses where state institutions have fallen short. The use of increasingly sophisticated weaponry by criminal groups in regions described as "abandoned" by security forces underscores the urgent need for comprehensive public safety infrastructure and investment in marginalized areas. While national homicide statistics may show improvement, these figures mean little to communities living under siege, forced from their homes, and compelled to arm themselves for self-defense in the absence of adequate state protection.