Cartel violence in Mexico: Three farmers killed in roadside bombing after soldiers dies in explosive booby trap

Three farmers lost their lives due to an explosive device, seemingly embedded in a dirt road, within the cartel-controlled state of Michoacan in western Mexico - reports CBS News

This incident represents the second occurrence within a mere five days where clandestine explosive devices have resulted in several deaths in the area.

According to CBS News, a state security official who was not authorized to be quoted by name said the blast occurred in the rural township of Tumbiscatio.

This event marks the most recent example of what seems to be a growing trend among drug cartels employing homemade bombs as they vie for dominance over Michoacan - reports ABC News

According to the latest army report from August, there has been a significant spike in incidents involving roadside bombs or homemade explosive devices. The Defense Department reported that, within the first eight months of 2023, 42 individuals, including soldiers, police officers, and suspects, suffered injuries due to these devices, a stark increase from 16 in the entirety of 2022.

This follows closely on the heels of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's admission that a homemade bomb resulted in the death of at least four soldiers, an event he described as a "trap" likely orchestrated by a cartel in Michoacan.

President López Obrador detailed that the soldiers met their demise last Thursday on the periphery of Aguililla, Michoacan. He disclosed on Friday that the soldiers were conducting an inspection of a camp, presumably utilized by cartel operatives, when they detonated an anti-personnel mine concealed in the underbrush.

The reported figures from the army seem to account solely for those injured by explosives. It has been previously confirmed that at least one National Guard officer and four state police officers were killed in two distinct explosive incidents in 2023.

Soruce: CBS News, ABC News