VILLA UNION, Mexico—When dozens of pickup trucks crowded with armed men and mounted machine guns roared into Villa Union, residents of the small town near the U.S. border began to realize they were the target of a military-style invasion.
What followed were hours-long gun battles between a cartel force estimated to number from 70 to 150 men and state police that left 23 people dead. At least 50 homes and buildings were riddled with bullet holes.
