An improvised landmine, believed to have been planted by a drug cartel, killed two Mexican soldiers and wounded five others, Mexico’s defense secretary announced Tuesday.
Gen. Ricardo Trevilla revealed that the army had suffered six fatalities from similar improvised explosive devices (IEDs) between 2018 and 2024. He did not specify whether these deaths resulted from roadside bombs or explosives dropped by drones, both of which are tactics commonly used by gangs in Mexico.
The device involved in Monday’s explosion was described by Trevilla as “very rustic.” Officials have previously compared such devices to buried pipe bombs. There was no immediate update on the condition of the five wounded soldiers, which included at least one officer.
The incident occurred in Michoacán, a western state plagued by cartel violence. Trevilla suggested the explosion was likely part of a drug cartel booby trap. The soldiers had been dispatched to investigate reports of an armed encampment in a rural area. Upon arriving, they found the path blocked by logs and were forced to proceed on foot.
As they advanced, they discovered three dismembered bodies near the seemingly abandoned encampment. Moments later, a buried explosive detonated, striking the soldiers.
Trevilla attributed the attack to the United Cartels, an alliance that includes the Viagras gang, which has been engaged in long-standing turf wars with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel in Michoacán.
The Mexican army previously acknowledged in August that some soldiers have been killed by drones operated by drug cartels. However, officials have noted that roadside bombs are more frequently encountered than drone-dropped explosives.
Michoacán has seen escalating violence as cartels employ militarized strategies, including IEDs, trenches, pillbox fortifications, homemade armored vehicles, and sniper rifles. According to a report released in August 2023, 42 soldiers, police, and suspects were wounded by IEDs in the first seven months of that year, a significant rise from 16 cases in 2022.
