22 People Reported Missing in Mexico Amid Drug Turf War

22 people were reported missing following a drug turf war in Southern Mexico. Among those missing are five teachers who have disappeared in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero during the past 72 hours.

According to Fox News Latino, Mexican authorities said that they have conducted a search for the missing people, but no one has been found yet.

The report said that armed gunmen shot three men in El Salitre, in the city of Arcelia. Those shot were heading to a wedding on Saturday night. 17 others were reported missing.

Initial reports were released saying seven men were missing, but Mexican officials revised the figure in the past few hours, as relatives of those involved filed complaints with prosecutors.

According to Arcelia city mayor, Adolfo Torales, the wedding caravan was "intercepted by approximately eight heavily armed people wearing military uniforms." Torales used the information provided by relatives of the victims. He fears that more men may be missing from the attack.

In another incident, about 30 gunmen went to the Santa Ana del Aguila high school in Ajuchitlan del Progreso on Monday and kidnapped five teachers, one of them a woman.

Among those kidnapped from the school are Joaquin Real, the principal, and teachers Guadalupe Olea, Martin Blancas, Javier Calderon and Jose Maria Torres.

Arcelia and Ajuchitlan del Progreso are among the Mexican cities that have been the scene of many rival gang drug wars for years. Despite lack of proper training, many of these cartel forces are used to large-scale gun battles. Casualties are commonplace. 

PBS reports that the drug wars in Mexico have killed more than 164,000 people in the periods between 2007 to 2014. Nearly 20,000 were killed in homicides in 2014 alone, and this was already a decrease in the 27,000 killed at the peak of the fighting in 2011.

According to Breitbart, these numbers don't account for the tens of thousands of victims who were kidnapped, and are feared to be dead. In August 2010, Los Zetas executed 78 immigrants in San Fernando. Months later, Mexican authorities found 47 mass graves with 193 unidentified bodies from victims who had been tortured by Los Zetas. 

The Familia Michoacana, Guerreros Unidos and Caballeros Templarios, have been notorious for waging turf wars in the region for years.

Mexican drug cartels are greatly feared in the country, and despite President Pena Nieto's efforts to establish a war on the gangs, many of the gangs have managed to stay one step ahead of the Mexican government.