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The blast happened at midday in the center of the town of
Coahuayana, on the coast of Michoacán, a state where numerous
criminal groups operate, including the powerful Jalisco New
Generation Cartel. It's also where the government recently
launched a major security operation given the ongoing violence.
The state prosecutor’s office said the vehicle that exploded was
a pickup truck and that the remains of two people were found at
the scene. Authorities said three of those killed and five of
those injured were members of a community police force.
One of the people who died at the scene was the driver of the
truck that exploded, officials have said.
The use of explosives — dropped from drones, buried like mines
or hidden along roads — has been an increasingly common
technique used by criminal groups in the region, although it is
not typical for them to be placed in cars.
According to Héctor Zepeda, commander of the community police,
the explosion was so powerful that human remains were scattered
throughout the area.
The police force is one of several that formed more than a
decade ago during a civilian self-defense movement to fight the
cartels. The community police forces were later formalized by
the state, although in some areas they had been infiltrated by
criminals.
The explosion happened while the state governor, Alfredo Ramírez
Bedolla, was participating in a public event with President
Claudia Sheinbaum in Mexico City to celebrate seven years of
government by the ruling Morena party.
For two decades, various organized crime groups have fought for
control of the territory because Michoacán is a gateway for
chemical precursors used in the manufacture of synthetic drugs.
They also have another lucrative business: extortion.
At least three of the six drug cartels that the Trump
administration has designated as terrorist organizations —
Jalisco New Generation, United Cartels and The New Michoacan
Family — operate in Michoacán, in addition to a slew of
homegrown armed splinter groups, some supported by the Sinaloa
Cartel.
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