Terrifying video shows Mexican cartel soldiers showing off their heavy weapons

Terrifying footage shows dozens of uniformed gunmen posing with military-grade weapons near armored pickup trucks emblazoned with the initials of the Jalisco drug cartel in Mexico as the country's top security officials launch an investigation into the video.

In what appears to be a show of power, several dozen masked men are heard shouting they are 'people of Mencho,' a nickname used by Jalisco New Generation Cartel boss Nemesio Oseguera.

Almost all of the uniformed men wearing bulletproof vests wield assault rifles, and some appear to have belt-fed machine guns or .50 caliber sniper rifles.

Many of the trucks in a column of about 20 vehicles parked on a dirt road have improvised gun turrets or plate-steel armor welded onto them.


Mexico's top security official, Alfonso Durazo, wrote that the video is being analyzed to confirm whether it is authentic and when it was made.

Durazo wrote on his Twitter account that 'there is no criminal group that has the capacity to successfully defy federal security forces, and much less with this staged event'.

The video was posted on social media sites Thursday, which coincided with President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador's visit to the states of Guanajuato, Jalisco and Colima, some of the cartel's strongholds.

'They are sending a clear message... that they basically rule Mexico, not Lopez Obrador,' said Mike Vigil, a former chief of international operations for the US Drug Enforcement Administration.

A spokesman for Lopez Obrador's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. López Obrador met Thursday with Jalisco Gov Enrique Alfaro to discuss security issues.

'In the face of threats, intimidations, we say to Governor Alfaro that he is not alone, that we are with him in facing the challenge of crime,' López Obrador said.

'This problem cannot be solved with massacres. It is going to be done more with intelligence than force,' said López Obrador.

The president defended his policy of avoiding confrontation with the cartels.

He prefers to address social problems like poverty and unemployment that he says contribute to crime.

But the strategy, branded by Lopez Obrador as one of 'hugs, not bullets,' has emboldened criminal groups, many security analysts say.

The president's approach 'has only led these cartels to operate with more impunity,' Vigil said.

It was unclear when the video had been filmed, but it appeared to be authentic, Vigil said.

The Jalisco cartel is regarded as Mexico's strongest gang, along with the Sinaloa Cartel formerly led by jailed kingpin Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman.