Helicopter Gunship Opens Fire During Chase in the Mountains of Badiraguato

So this is the kind of footage that leaks out of the sierra once in a while. Not the staged narco-videos everyone passes around on Telegram, but the kind that reminds you the war in the mountains never really stopped.

The video, reportedly filmed somewhere in the rugged hills of Badiraguato, Sinaloa, shows what appears to be a Mexican Navy Mi-17 helicopter pursuing a vehicle racing along a dirt road carved into the mountainside. The footage was allegedly captured by armed men hidden in the brush, watching the scene unfold from a distance.

As the helicopter closes in, the door gunner unleashes bursts from what appears to be a mounted minigun, spraying the fleeing vehicle with sustained fire. The aircraft circles low over the terrain, tracking the target along the narrow road below.

Moments like this rarely make it into official press releases. But in the sierras of Sinaloa, this is the reality of the hunt. Helicopters overhead, trucks fleeing down dirt roads, and somewhere in the bushes, someone filming it all.