Former Colombian soldiers were involved in ’the explosion of a narco-mine’ between the states of Michoacán and Jalisco, authorities say.
The head of Mexico’s Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC), Omar García Harfuch, said a pattern of organized crime to recruit former Colombian military personnel has been detected in Mexico.
Harfuch said on June 10 that on May 29, Mexican Army personnel detained 17 people in the municipality of Los Reyes, Michoacán. Five were Mexicans and 12 were Colombian nationals—nine former soldiers and three civilians with military training in the use of weapons.
Harfuch said the detained former Colombian soldiers were involved in “the explosion of a narco-mine” on the border between the states of Michoacán and Jalisco that killed eight members of the Mexican Army on May 28.
“A pattern of recruitment of this type of profile by criminal groups in our country has been detected,” said the head of the SSPC during the daily press conference at the National Palace.
“We are already in communication and coordination with the Colombian authorities to prevent these recruitment activities from continuing.”
Authorities at the site also seized seven replica long guns, magazines, cartridges, 41 explosive devices, a box of explosives, a bucket of black powder, 13 ballistic plates, two ballistic helmets, a tactical vest, and four vehicles.
The secretary added that the Colombians arrested entered through the Mexico City airport.
He added that “in coordination with the Colombian authorities, 69 people have been returned to their country.”
Harfuch said the Navy Secretariat conducted immigration interviews at the airport, after which the Colombian citizens were denied entry into the country.
“Some of them mentioned in the [immigration] interviews that they had been recruited by a criminal group, and they were rejected on the spot,” he said.
After learning of the May 28 incident, the Colombian Foreign Ministry said on June 4 that a consular mission in Mexico had verified the identities of those detained.
