Six soldiers have been killed in Michoacán’s cartel bomb attack, while two others were injured late Tuesday in Mexico’s western Michoacán state, a region long plagued by violent clashes between drug cartels, according to an official military report obtained by AFP.
The blast targeted an armoured military vehicle near a town in Michoacán, destroying it and prompting an immediate emergency response. Military aircraft and helicopters were deployed to assist the wounded, the internal document stated.
President Claudia Sheinbaum condemned the attack as “deplorable” and extended her condolences to the families of the victims.
The deadly explosion is the latest in a series of violent assaults on Mexican security forces in cartel-controlled areas. Criminal groups in Michoacán have increasingly used improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and drones equipped with bombs, turning rural battle zones into deadly traps for military and police.
Michoacán is a hotbed of conflict between the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), one of Mexico’s most powerful and brutal drug trafficking organisations, and several rival local gangs. The CJNG has been linked to numerous high-profile attacks, including a wave of arson and ambushes across the region earlier this year.
In a particularly brazen move, cartel gunmen last month hijacked and torched cargo trucks on a major highway between Mexico City and Guadalajara. Similar incidents were reported in neighbouring Guanajuato, believed to be retaliation for a large-scale military operation in cartel territory.
The influence of criminal organisations in Michoacán extends well beyond violence. In December, a banner at a town Christmas fair thanked Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera, the elusive CJNG leader with a $15 million U.S. bounty, for donating children’s gifts during the holiday season, highlighting the complex and disturbing grip cartels maintain on local communities.
Since Mexico launched its military-led war on drug trafficking in 2006, more than 480,000 people have been killed, and over 120,000 remain missing, many presumed to be victims of organised crime.
The incident adds to growing pressure on President Sheinbaum’s administration to curb cartel violence and secure rural areas increasingly controlled by criminal groups. It also reignites debates about potential U.S. intervention, especially following former President Donald Trump’s controversial designation of six Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organisations.
As investigations into Tuesday’s deadly bombing continue, authorities have vowed to intensify their efforts to restore order in Michoacán.
