“Estamos atrapados,” the teachers wrote. We are trapped. They work in El Charco and Magueyitos, two communities in the municipality of Tecoanapa on Guerrero’s Costa Chica, and on Monday, April 27, 2026, they could not leave.
Gunfire and drone-dropped explosives began around 11 in the morning, according to roughly 200 residents of El Charco who spoke to Diario de Tabasco. The shooting then spread to the neighboring village of Los Magueyitos. Families stayed indoors. Some asked federal and state authorities for protection, and for help getting the teachers out.
What residents reported
The Union de Pueblos y Organizaciones del Estado de Guerrero, known as UPOEG, said villagers woke to bursts of fire. In its account, gunmen from Los Ardillos tried to enter El Charco and shot down from the hilltops with heavy-caliber weapons. The group also described drones releasing explosive devices over the village.
Those devices did not fully go off. Even so, they damaged the roofs of several houses, UnoTV reported. The assault lasted almost two hours, and residents remained sheltered the whole time for fear of more detonations. Community police recorded footage of themselves crouched behind trees, returning fire.
A UPOEG leader told reporters the attack “only left material damage to the homes.”
Troops and police move in
A military convoy reached the area at midday, Diario de Tabasco reported. Soldiers of the Secretaria de la Defensa Nacional, state police and municipal police then walked patrols through the affected communities. On dry ground they found what the municipal government called “a presumed explosive device.”
La Razon de Mexico reported that videos circulating on social media showed armed civilians firing round after round from a wooded area. Tecoanapa’s municipal government confirmed that nobody was killed or hurt. In a statement it said the authorities of the three government levels “maintain permanent coordination to address any situation that could jeopardize family safety,” and that surveillance in the municipality would continue.
A dispute since January
The fighting is part of a territorial dispute on the Costa Chica that began in January between the criminal group Los Ardillos and the UPOEG, whose community police patrol the villages. El Charco and Magueyitos sit in the middle of it.
For the people who live there, a day with no deaths is not the same as a day without harm. Roofs were broken, classes were cut off, and families spent hours listening for the next blast. The authorities have not said how long the troops and police will stay.
Sources
- Reportan enfrentamiento armado y ataques con drones en Tecoanapa, Guerrero (La Razon de Mexico)
- Ataque con drones y disparos en El Charco, Tecoanapa (UnoTV)
- Reportan balaceras y drones con explosivos en Tecoanapa; pobladores piden apoyo (Diario de Tabasco)
