Two Mexican soldiers died this week after stepping on explosive mines allegedly planted by criminal groups in the municipality of Cotija, in Michoacan. Five others reported injuries and were taken to area hospitals to be treated.
The narco-mine was planted by criminal groups in the community of Gallineros, per Mexican news outlet Corresponsales. Following the attack, the Michoacán Public Security Secretariat airlifted the two fatally injured soldiers by helicopter, but they passed away moments later.
According to Mexico's Secretary of Defense, General Ricardo Trevilla, the improvised explosive device detonated while the military personnel was surveying the area following the discovery of three dismembered bodies.
When asked about the perpetrators behind the attack, Trevilla indicated that the local group Cárteles Unidos was being investigated. According to the Border Report, the cartel is made up of various criminal organizations that have been fighting violent turf battles against the Jalisco cartel in Michoacan for years.
In recent years, Mexican criminal groups have increasingly used homemade mines and modified drones to confront police and military forces. Earlier this year, four soldiers died after stepping on a homemade explosive in another town in Michoacan plagued by territorial disputes between cartels.
Michoacan, famous for its Monarch Butterfly Reserve, has long been in the U.S. Department of State's "Do Not Travel" list due to widespread violent crime, which escalated following a federal government crackdown on drug cartels in 2006. The state's homicide rate is more than twice the country's average.
Recently, a California couple was shot and killed while on holiday in Michoacan. Investigators have yet to confirm a motive for the attack.
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