An elderly couple sustained moderate injuries after a group of cartel gunmen dropped an IED on top of their home using a drone. The incident comes as cartels continue to operate with almost complete impunity in the western Mexican state of Michoacan, where various organizations are fighting a fierce turf war for control of drug production areas and trafficking routes.
The attack took place on Thursday night in the town of La Ruana, in the rural part of Michoacan, when a 72-year-old man and his 71-year-old wife were sleeping in their room, La Voz de Michoacan reported. During the night, a group of gunmen flew a drone over the town and dropped an explosive device that landed in the couple’s home.
The couple claimed to have heard a thud in their roof, followed shortly after by a loud blast. Emergency personnel arrived at the home and rushed the couple to a local hospital, where they are expected to recover.
The town of La Ruana is in a part of Michoacan that has a long history of cartel turf wars, as criminal organizations fight for control of drug production areas and trafficking routes into Mexico.
The drone attack comes at a time when drug cartels in Michoacan, such as Cartel Jalisco New Generations, La Familia Michoacan, Knights Templars, and others, have been innovating the use of IEDs in their turf wars.
Breitbart Texas was one of the first outlets to report on how these cartels had begun using commercial drones to drop IEDs on their enemies. The cartels are also manufacturing land mines and mortars.
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.
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