(Adnkronos) – A car bomb exploded overnight between Sunday and Monday in front of a police station in Mexico, injuring seven people. Authorities reported this. The explosion occurred in Ojocaliente, in the state of Zacatecas, where Mexico’s two largest drug cartels are vying for control of important drug trafficking routes. According to an AFP count, this is the third explosive attack in Zacatecas in less than a week. “The explosive device was placed inside a private vehicle and caused damage to the police station and surrounding properties,” state government secretary Rodrigo Reyes said on Facebook. In a previous message, Reyes had reported that six civilians were injured, adding that they were receiving medical attention. A police officer was also injured in the explosion. The explosion also damaged 13 vehicles, including two police patrol cars.
Local authorities announced the suspension of school classes for Monday and the cancellation of celebrations organized for the city’s patron saint festival. Zacatecas is a strategic area for drug trafficking because it connects central Mexico with the north and west of the country and includes important routes used for smuggling cocaine and other narcotics into the United States. For years, the state was plagued by drug-related violence of terrible proportions, with bodies found and people disappearing almost daily, until a relative calm was established.
In July, five bodies were found hanging from a bridge in Pozos de Gamboa, about 75 kilometers from Ojocaliente. Among the victims were a former mayor, public officials, and entrepreneurs from other areas of the state. The murders attracted the attention of left-wing president Claudia Sheinbaum, who promised to arrest those responsible. In response to threats from US President Donald Trump to intervene directly against cartels to prevent drugs from crossing the border into the United States, Sheinbaum deployed soldiers to states particularly affected by violence, such as Sinaloa and Michoacán.
