EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – A human rights organization says a drug cartel has dropped 33 explosive devices from drones in a rural community in Mexico this month, endangering families and forcing residents to flee.
The drone attacks began Aug. 10 in the farming community of El Caracol, Guerrero, whose residents also were targeted by random gunfire, according to the Minerva Bello Center for Victims of Violence in the state capital of Chilpancingo.
A total of 30 homemade bombs were dropped from drones that day and three more on Aug. 11, center officials said in a statement. The center also shared a cellphone video in which a drone is seen flying over trees and an explosion is heard.
“We urge authorities at every level to urgently take the necessary actions to stop the aggression against the residents of El Caracol,” the statement said.
The organization, citing accounts from displaced residents, said drones were first spotted in the community last May. That month, 17 attacks from explosive devices were recorded and half of the population fled to a nearby town called Tlacotepec. Many residents have since returned to tend to their crops and have again become the target of attacks.
Center officials this week told the international news portal Infobae that town residents are caught in a feud between La Familia Michoacana (LFM) drug cartel and a regional gang called Los Tlacos. They attribute the drone attacks to the transnational LFM as a way to dissuade the population from supporting the local group.
Border Report reached out to Guerrero state authorities for comment and is awaiting a response. The state Attorney General’s Office has made no mention of drone attacks recently in its social media pages.
