<span style="color: #222222;">In Mexico, a shootout between suspected drug cartels left 18 people dead on Friday.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Spokeswoman for the Zacatecas State Government Rocio Aguilar said, the gunfight happened in a remote area of state in the country's northern region.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The battle was between rival gangs fighting over turf, she told local TV.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Valparaiso borders Jalisco state, a stronghold of a powerful cartel called Jalisco Nueva Generacion.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Drug-related violence has claimed more than 3,00,000 lives in Mexico since 2006, when the government started deploying federal troops to fight the cartels.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Authorities said, the gang is waging a violent campaign to take control of drug trafficking routes.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Local media have reported a series of shootouts since Wednesday, when the bodies of two Police Officers were found hanging from a bridge in Zacatecas.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador acknowledged that there were security problems in the region, but said, his administration was making progress in the fight against crime.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The state has the obligation to guarantee peace and tranquility, the security of all citizens, Lopez Obrador said in his usual morning conference. He said, the government was making an effort in Zacatecas, as well as other troubled states.</span><br />