Footage has been released from the camera of a drone that appears to have been used by the Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) cartel to drop explosives on a civilian encampment in Michoacan state in central Mexico on Monday.
The footage, which is reproduced here below, shows three bombs being released by the drone, and the resulting explosions, one of which started a forest fire.
The drone was then summarily shot down, either by one of the people in the camps or by authorities. The damaged drone was recovered and the video it had recorded was spread all over the internet, in order to raise awareness of what is happening in the area.
It's not clear what the CJNG's goals are, but the narrator of the video talks about how they are trying to enter the Tepalcatepec area, but have been stopped in their tracks by authorities in armed clashes.
It is currently not known, however, why they felt they needed to attack camps full of displaced civilians in order to further their goals.
The encampment they targeted was one of the people displaced from the neighborhoods of El Bejuco and La Romera, both known for being violent and gang-infested areas of Tepalcatepec.
“… We’ve now had four months of insecurity, [but] nobody turns around to see [what’s happening,]" commented Martha Mendoza, the mayor of Tepalcatepec.
"This is the only municipality where there are more than 3,000 displaced people. Four months and … nobody provides a solution."