MEXICO CITY (AP) — Death toll died in an explosion The number of cases near a police station in the western Mexican state of Michoacan rose to five over the weekend, the Attorney General's Office said on Sunday.
Five more people remained hospitalized after Saturday's explosion, it said.
The explosion occurred at noon in the center of the city of Coahuayana, on the coast of Michoacan. a state where numerous criminal groups operateincluding the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel. It is here that the government recently launched a major security operation given the ongoing violence.
Prosecutors said the vehicle that exploded was a pickup truck, and the remains of two people were found at the scene. He added that eight people were injured and taken to hospitals, all of them local police officers, three of whom died while receiving medical attention.
According to authorities, one of those killed at the scene was the driver of the truck that exploded.
The use of explosives – dropped from drones, buried as mines or hidden along roads – is an increasingly common method used by criminal gangs in the region, although placing them in vehicles is unusual.
According to local police chief Hector Zepeda, the explosion was so powerful that human remains were scattered throughout the area.
The police force is one of several formed more than a decade ago by the civil self-defense movement to fight the cartels. The state later formalized a local police force, although in some areas it was infiltrated by criminals.
The explosion occurred as the state's governor, Alfredo Ramirez Bedolla, was attending a public event with the president. Claudia Sheinbaum in Mexico City to celebrate seven years of rule by the ruling Morena party.
For two decades, various organized crime groups have battled for control of the territory as Michoacan is a gateway to precursor chemicals used in the production of synthetic drugs. They also have another profitable business: extortion.
At least three of the six drug cartels run by the Trump administration. recognized as terrorist organizations – Jalisco New Generation, United Cartels and Michoacán New Family – operate in Michoacan, as well as a variety of homegrown splinter armed groups, some of which are supported by the Sinaloa Cartel.
Associated Press
