A video that went viral this week appears to show a Mexican drug cartel dropping multiple bombs on a rival cartel using an aerial drone.
The footage shows a birds-eye view of the scene as multiple bombs are dropped on several tents, forcing their occupants to flee. The Mexican news outlet El País reported that the Jalisco Nueva Generacion Cartel (CJNG) is responsible for the attack, which took place in Tepalcatepec, Michoacan.
“A drone, explosions and impunity: the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel exhibits its firepower,” El País tweeted, according to Google Translate. “Michoacán, one of the states hardest hit by drug violence, denounces its abandonment to criminal groups.”
“First there is an explosion. Fire. Smoke. Then dozens of people run out of what look like hidden cabins,” El País continued in a separate tweet. “Three more projectiles fall on the town. The camera broadens the focus and from above you can see how the flames begin to consume a yellowish forest.”
The Mexican outlet reported that Michoacán has long been a hot spot for drug traffickers, but the situation has become more intense in recent months as rival cartels clash. El País also noted that this is not the first time a cartel has used drones to attack the area.
In December, the Drug Enforcement Administration characterized the CJNG as “one of Mexico’s most violent and prolific drug trafficking organizations, which has been flooding the United States with fentanyl and methamphetamine, causing the overdose and death of Americans.”
“Disrupting and destroying this organization remains one of DEA’s highest priorities. We are in the midst of a national emergency with overdose deaths reaching more than 100,000 in the last 12-months,” the DEA’s statement read. “Mexican drug cartels like CJNG are behind the massive flood of illicit drugs into this country. Today’s reward announcement underscores DEA’s commitment to pursuing the individuals and organizations that are causing the most harm in our communities.”
In addition to the danger of drugs being brought across the US-Mexico border, Customs and Border Protection agents in the US have been repeatedly shot at by gunmen in Mexico.
On New Year’s Day, multiple bullets struck an agent’s vehicle while he was arresting an illegal immigrant in Texas, but the agent himself was not harmed.
