A war-like gun battle between rival cartels left 19 people dead during a bloody weekend in Mexico in which nearly 300 were murdered.

State prosecutors of the northern Mexican border state of Chihuahua said 20 members of the Gente Nueva del Jaguar, a gang linked to Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán's old Sinaloa Cartel, were ambushed by 40 members of the Juarez Cartel's La Línea gang on Friday night.

The incident took place at approximately 7pm when the Sinaloa Cartel's hit squad was traveling from Chuhuichupa, a town in the municipality of Madera, to La Norteña, another city located in Madera, when its convoy of vehicles were met with fire from La Línea.

An 18-year-old identified as Tomás Estrada, with the Gente Nueva del Jaguar, was wounded in the shooting, according to Mexican newspaper El Financiero. He remains in custody.

A shooting on Friday night in the northern Mexican border state of Chihuahua between two assassin squads tied to the Sinaloa and Juarez cartels left 19 men dead, including the nephew and brother of the leader of the Gente Nueva del Jaguar, a gang linked to El Chapo's old cartel

Police in the northern state of Chihuahua confiscated two vehicles left behind by gunmen that were involved in a shootout between two cartels that left 19 men dead Friday night

Another wounded man died in an ambulance while he was being transported to a local hospital.

Among the dead identified by authorities is Jose Luis 'El Lobo' Arvizu, whose brother Francisco 'El Jaguar' Arvizu is the leader of the Gente Nueva del Jaguar.

His nephew and El Lobo's son Uriel 'El Morito' Arvizu was also killed in the attack.

Authorities found two grenades, two vehicles and 18 military rifles at the scene of the clash.

A gang tied Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán's old Sinaloa Cartel was ambushed in a deadly attack Friday in Chihuahua, Mexico

The Chihuahua state prosecutor's office said police and soldiers had been sent to secure the area, where groups allied with the Sinaloa Cartel have been fighting other gangs, including a remnant of the Beltrán Leyva Cartel and others aligned with the Juarez Cartel.

Recent government figures show that Mexico registered a record 2,585 murders for the month of March, the highest monthly number since June 2019.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Friday that that violence generated by organized crime kept up last month, despite the government's introduction of measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus, such as suspending classes and urging residents of the capital to stay home.

'It seemed in late March, when the coronavirus had become more widespread, that we would have a considerable reduction (in violence),' López Obrador.

'Unfortunately, it didn't turn out that way.'

In an area about 60 miles to the north of Friday's clash, nine U.S.-Mexican dual citizens were ambushed and slain November 4 by suspected drug gang assassins along a remote road.

It was not clear if any of the same groups were involved in the two sets of killings.