Last month, Mexican officials arrested the leaders of the Juarez and Gulf Cartels, dealing a solid blow to the two gangs.

But the fracturing of these cartels has been coupled with the rise of the “Jalisco Cartel- New Generation” (JCNG), a bold and violent new cartel in Mexico’s southern state of Jalisco.

JCNG was formed by former deputies of the Mileno and Sinaloa Cartels after they fell apart in 2009. Since then, the cartel has been terrorizing the state of Jalisco and its capitol, Guadalajara.

In the most recent episode of violence, which took place on May 1, the cartel took the battle against government forces to the next level, using a rocket-propelled grenade to take down an army helicopter.

Guillermo Valdés is a former Mexican intelligence official. He has also chronicled the history of Mexico’s cartels in his book, “A History of Drug Trafficking in Mexico”.

“This is the first time they have knocked out a helicopter,” Valdés told the Wall Street Journal.

“This means the Jalisco New Generation Cartel is a powerful organization with the money to acquire powerful weapons, form small armies and train their people in the use of these weapons.”

But the downed helicopter was only a small part of the story.

May 1 saw the cartel launch a meticulously coordinated spree of violence all across Guadalajara, the country’s second largest metropolitan area after Mexico City. According to the Wall Street Journal,

“Suspected cartel gunmen used burning cars and buses to make 39 road blocks across Jalisco’s main highways, attacked security forces, and set fire to 11 bank branches and five gasoline stations.”

Mexican officials say that all six of the soldiers that were in the army helicopter have been confirmed dead. Last Friday’s violence also claimed the lives of a state police officer and seven suspected cartel members.

Read more from the Wall Street Journal.