A new level in narco-violence in Mexico? At least six people died and twelve others were injured in an "unprecedented" bomb attack targeting security forces on Tuesday (July 11th) near Guadalajara (west).
"This is something we have never seen here before," Jalisco Governor Enrique Alfaro, who heads one of the most violent states in the federation (1,095 homicides and 750 disappearances since the beginning of the year alone), said Wednesday.
The governor denounced "a brutal act of terror" that is akin to a "challenge to the Mexican state as a whole". In a country accustomed to violence, bomb attacks remain relatively rare.
The governor pointed to the responsibility of "organized crime", without specifically mentioning the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), one of the two most formidable in Mexico. Three police officers were among the victims, the governor said. The attack also killed two civilians, according to the prosecutor quoted by the newspaper Milenio.
The attackers used "seven" "improvised explosive" devices, according to the governor according to which "the attack targeted" the staff of the state prosecutor's office (of Jalisco) and the municipal police of Tlajomulco.
In this commune near Guadalajara, some 200 bodies have been found this year in mass graves. These are alleged victims of the war between the cartels.
The security forces targeted by the bomb attack were also going Tuesday night to the scene of the possible discovery of a mass grave, after an anonymous call to the representative of one of the groups of civilians looking for missing people.
According to information from the local branch of the television channel Televisa, the explosion occurred near a vehicle carrying the police. It was "a trap" intended to obtain "the presence of our policemen," according to the governor.
"We never received this call," Indira Navarro of the Jalisco Mothers Researcher Collective told reporters.
Jalisco is the Mexican state (there are 32 in total) with the highest number of missing persons (some 15,000 out of a total of 111,203 registered since 1962).
'Narcoterrorism'
In June, a National Guard officer died and others were injured when a car bomb exploded in Guanajuato state.
Last Sunday, in the neighbouring state of Michoacan, one person was injured in the drone bomb attack in the village of Apatzingan.
The aim is "to weaken the strike force of rivals of other cartels, as well as security forces, and to provoke terror among the civilian population," said security consultant David Saucedo, who spoke to AFP of "narcoterrorism".
State forces were also challenged Monday and Tuesday in Guerrero, where 10 police officers and three officials were held hostage by protesters infiltrated by organized crime, authorities said.
The 13 people were finally released on Tuesday after negotiations between the federal state and protesters, who also broke down the gate of the Guerrero governor's palace with an armored police vehicle and blocked a highway.
Mexico has recorded some 350,000 murders while tens of thousands have gone missing since 2006 and the launch of a military offensive against organized crime.
The CJNG is accused of shooting down a helicopter with a rocket launcher in 2015, killing six Jalisco state officials.
CJNG leader Nemesio Oseguera "El Mencho" is wanted by the United States, which offers $10 million for his capture.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is accused of preaching conciliation with the cartels, which US Republicans would like to list as terrorist organizations.
"Peace is the fruit of justice, not coercive measures," repeated Wednesday Lopez Obrador, who had summarized his policy with a formula ("Abrazos, no balazos", "hugs, not shootings").
(with AFP)
The summary of the weekFrance 24 invites you to look back on the news that marked the week
I subscribe
Take international news with you everywhere! Download the France 24 app