The logo signboard of Japanese automaker Honda Motor is seen at the showroom roof in Tokyo.
Japanese car manufacturer Honda suspended operations in the western Mexican city of Guadalajara, the company said, after a wave of violence following the death in a military operation of "El Mencho," the powerful leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
"As a precautionary measure, our operations in our installations in Guadalajara were temporarily suspended on Feb. 23," Daniela Sanchez, a spokesperson for the car factory, told AFP, explaining that activities would be restarted "when appropriate."
The automotive giant is currently "assessing the [security] situation" after gunmen for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) burned vehicles and blocked highways in 20 of the country's 32 states on Feb. 22, an act of revenge for the killing of their leader, Nemesio Oseguera, also known as "El Mencho."
These violent acts were concentrated in Guadalajara and the surrounding metropolitan area, where the Japanese manufacturer has a plant.
Mexico is an automotive manufacturing hub and hosts factories for several major car manufacturers, including Ford, General Motors, BMW, and Audi. The sector accounts for 3.6 percent of the country's GDP.
