Mexican soldiers killed a suspected leader of the Los Reyes cartel in western Mexico, the defense ministry said on Tuesday, as Mexico continues to escalate its war against cartels and organized crime.

The U.S. had offered a $3 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Luis Enrique Barragan Chavez, whom U.S. authorities identified as a top hitman for the Los Reyes cartel, a faction of the Carteles Unidos criminal group.

According to a statement from Mexico’s defense ministry, soldiers killed Barragan during an operation in Tocumbo in the state of Michoacan during a clash in which authorities say the soldiers came under fire. In addition to Barragan, another suspected cartel associate was killed in the operation.

Barragan, who was accused of coordinating extortion rackets in territory controlled by the Los Reyes faction, had also been indicted in the United States on drug conspiracy and firearms charges.

Michoacan has long been plagued by cartel violence and extortion targeting avocado producers supplying the United States, its primary market.

(Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz; Editing by Bill Berkrot)