Cartel gunmen rigged an explosive device at a crime scene where they left a dismembered body in Central Mexico. Officials claim the ensuing explosion injured three officers was an intentional attack on state police late last week.

State police and ministerial investigators responded to a house in Irapuato, Guanajuato, for a call about a dismembered body. As authorities were processing the crime scene, an explosive device detonated. A local journalist recording the crime scene captured the blast on video.

The explosion was a trap intended for responding state authorities, according to Guanajuato Attorney General Carlos Zamarripa. Since the incident, authorities are taking extra precautions at crime scenes.

Three attorney general officers sustained injuries. In the aftermath, an unknown criminal organization distributed messages on social media taking credit and threatened more targeted violence. Unconfirmed reports point to Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) for the attack.

The once peaceful state of Guanajuato became a violent hotspot in recent years as criminal organizations fight for control of the lucrative fuel theft market and trafficking routes. In previous years, a local organization known as Cartel Santa Rosa de Lima used explosive devices against authorities and rivals. Additionally, CJNG has a history of using explosives.

Mexico’s federal government actively suppresses information about cases of IEDs and other explosive devices used by cartels as to avoid terrorism threat indicators.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com

Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.     

“L.P. Contreras” from Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project contributed to this report.