Cartel violence led Mexican officials to cancel the past weekend’s Independence Day celebrations in 12 cities. The festivities went on largely without incident throughout the rest of the nation.

Mexico celebrated its 209th Independence Day celebration commemorating freedom from Spain over the past weekend. Throughout most of the country, mayors, governors, and President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) gathered in town squares to reenact the moment when Father Miguel Hidalgo rang church bells and shouted to call the people to arms.

Despite the national celebrations, 12 cities in some of the states hardest hit by cartel violence canceled their festivities as a precautionary measure, El Economista reported. The celebration comes 11 years after cartel gunmen threw grenades into the Michoacán town square during the 2008 celebration, killing eight and injuring dozens more. According to LopezDoriga.com, there were 30,000 individuals gathered at the square.

Michoacán authorities canceled celebrations in Tepalcatepec and Buenavista. Those cities are seeing a dramatic spike in violence as Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG) carries out large-scale attacks to take control of the region from La Familia Michoacana and independent groups.

Sonora authorities canceled events in El Empalme. The festivities would have followed soon after cartel gunmen torched a home, severely burning a young boy and his relatives.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.

Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.