Mexico gang shootout in Nayarit state kills 28

A shootout between rival Mexican gangs has left at least 28 people dead, officials say.

The gunfight took place at a crossroads near Ruiz in the Pacific coast state of Nayarit, some 800km (500 miles) north-west of Mexico City.

Police found 28 men dead and four wounded when they reached the scene, which was littered with bullet shells.

In Michoacan state, drug gang violence has forced more than 1,000 people to flee their villages, officials say.


More than 34,000 people have died in Mexico since President Felipe Calderon launched a crackdown on the country's drug cartels in December 2006.

Nayarit state has a strong presence of one of Mexico's most powerful drug gangs, the Sinaloa cartel, which is run by the country's most wanted man, Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman.