National Guard Kills Three Colleagues Hours After Car Bomb Killed Five in Mexico Cartel Stronghold

A member of the Mexican National Guard shot and killed three fellow service members at a barracks over the weekend in the western Mexican state of Michoacán, where the government has increased security forces in the wake of recent high-profile killings.

A federal official confirmed the shooting Monday to The News and requested anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss it publicly. The shooting, which injured a fourth service member, is under investigation, the official said.

The suspect was detained in Michoacán.

The shooting occurred Saturday hours after a car bomb exploded in Coahuayana, Michoacán. killing five people outside a local police station. According to Héctor Zepeda, community police commander, the explosion was so powerful that human remains were scattered throughout the area.

President Claudia Sheinbaum declined to provide further details Monday.

The explosion and National Guard shooting came as the federal government has stepped up security activities in the state, sending additional troops after two recent high-profile killings.

Last month, Sheinbaum sent 2,000 soldiers – in addition to 4,300 permanent and 4,000 in neighboring states – to Michoacán following the murder of a frank representative of lime producers and a older popular confront the cartels. He killing of Uruapan mayor Carlos Manzo In November it sparked two days of youth-led demonstrations, in which protesters set fire to public buildings and clashed with police, leaving more than 100 people injured.

At least three of the six drug cartels the Trump administration designated as terrorist organizations – Jalisco Nueva Generación, Carteles Unidos and La Nueva Familia Michoacán – operate in Michoacán, in addition to a number of local dissident armed groups, some supported by the Sinaloa Cartel.

For two decades, various organized crime groups have fought for control of the territory because Michoacán is a gateway for chemical precursors used in the manufacture of synthetic drugs.