Mexican authorities said on Sunday that a car exploded near a police station in the restive western state of Michoacán, killing at least five people and injuring three others.
The explosion occurred shortly before noon local time on Saturday in front of the police headquarters in the coastal city of Coahuayana, according to the Mexican Attorney General’s Office, which has taken over the investigation into the case.
The state attorney’s office increased the initial death toll from three to five, adding that three of them were local police officers.
The explosion was so powerful that bodies were scattered throughout the area, said community police commander Héctor Zepeda.
At least three of six drug cartels designated by Trump administration terrorist organization – Jalisco New Generation, United Cartel and Nueva Michoacan Families – operate in Michoacán, along with a large number of indigenous armed separatist groups, some of which are supported by the Sinaloa Cartel.
this Uruapan Mayor Carlos Manzo Killed Michoacan state sparked two days of youth-led demonstrations in November, with protesters setting fire to public buildings and clashing with police, injuring more than 100 people.
Manzo, 40, was popular as a crusader against organized crime and worked against Mexico’s notorious drug cartels.
The use of explosives dropped by drones, buried like landmines or hidden on roads has become an increasingly common technique for criminal gangs in the region, although placing explosives in cars is less common.
The police force is one of several formed more than a decade ago as part of a civil self-defense campaign against drug cartels. Community police forces were later formalized by the state, although in some areas they were infiltrated by criminal elements.
The explosion occurred as the state’s governor, Alfredo Ramírez Bedola, was attending a public event with President Claudia Scheinbaum in Mexico City to celebrate the seventh anniversary of the ruling Morena party.
Various organized crime gangs have been vying for control of the territory for two decades because Michoacán is a gateway for chemical precursors used to make synthetic drugs. They also have another lucrative business: extortion.
October, Bernardo BravoA leader of lemon growers in Michoacán has repeatedly denounced the ransom demand Organized crime against producers
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