(Morelia) At least four soldiers were killed and nine others injured in an explosive attack against an army patrol in western Mexico, President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador announced on Friday, the day of the official launch of the electoral campaign for the presidential election of June 2.
The ambush occurred Thursday in a rural area of the state of Michoacán (center), when soldiers were trying to locate a criminal group, the head of state explained during his usual press conference.
“In the undergrowth there was a trap, an explosive” which, once triggered, killed one soldier, while three others were injured “but could not be saved,” Mr. Lopez said Obrador. Nine other soldiers were injured.
“This is what the army, navy and national guard must face,” added the president, faced with criticism from the opposition who are calling for a tough policy towards Mexican drug cartels. .
Mr. Lopez Obrador is implementing a policy that he says is about tackling the causes of violence, such as poverty, under the slogan “abrazos, no balazos” (hugs, not bullets).
The announcement of this attack comes on the opening day of the presidential campaign with the favorites being the candidate of the nationalist left in power, Claudia Sheinbaum, and that of the center-right opposition, Xochitl Galvez, who served as security one of the central themes of his campaign.
Military sources consulted by an AFP collaborator in Michoacán indicated that mines and drones equipped with explosives were used during this ambush.
The area where the attack took place is the scene of a conflict between the Jalisco Nueva Generacion Cartel and another criminal organization known as “El Abuelo” allied with the “Templars” gang, military authorities said .