People injured by explosions on Monday night received medical treatment in Morelia, MexicoMEXICO CITY — Explosions apparently caused by lobbed grenades tore through a crowded Independence Day celebration in the Mexican state of Michoacán late Monday night, killing at least seven people, injuring more than 100 others and casting a pall over a country that has experienced unprecedented levels of violence in recent months.
The authorities said it was unclear who had lofted the grenades into the crowd of revelers, but suspicion immediately fell on the drug cartels based in the region that have been singled out by President Felipe Calderón’s government.
The attack took place in Mr. Calderón’s hometown of Morelia, in the central square not far from where he grew up. If drug gangs were responsible, it would be their most brazen act to date, one that made innocents the targets and was clearly meant to send a haunting message to the country.
An emotional Mr. Calderón, who has sent thousands of soldiers to Michoacán and other drug hotspots to combat narcotics traffickers, delivered a nationwide address on Tuesday denouncing those responsible and calling on Mexicans to unite against them.
“On this national holiday, there are cowards hidden in the crowds of patriotic people that have converted joy into sadness and the happiness of Mexican families into sorrow,” he said.
Photographs from the scene showed what resembled a war zone, with bodies scattered across a stone plaza stained with pools of blood. Initial reports said three people were dead, but the toll rose throughout the day.
“First one person went down and then it was like domino pieces,” a witness, Juan José Rosales, told the newspaper El Universal.
The first explosion hit just after 11 p.m. as bells began to ring across Mexico and Gov. Leonel Godoy of Michoacán was delivering the traditional shout for independence, known as the “grito,” before thousands of boisterous revelers.
Across the country, Mexicans were packed together in plazas to celebrate the call for independence by Miguel Hidalgo, a Roman Catholic priest, in 1810. He started a revolt against Spanish rule on Sept. 15 by ringing a bell and shouting “Viva Mexico!”
The event is re-enacted every year by flag-waving Mexicans in what is one of the country’s most cherished traditions.
But in Morelia an explosion rang out just as the bells did on Monday night. Then there was an additional blast, and pandemonium broke out. The resulting cries were of panic and pain.
“Without a doubt, we think that it was organized crime, although this is being investigated by the attorney general’s office,” Mr. Godoy said in a television interview. He later said that witnesses had seen a well-dressed man dressed in black hurl one of the explosives.
The country has experienced a spate of attacks in recent months, although most have appeared to be drug gangs singling out law enforcement officials or rival gangs. On Friday, the police found 24 bodies dumped near the capital. A dozen decapitated corpses had been discovered weeks earlier.
Mexico is the primary trafficking route for Colombian drug cartels moving their contraband into the United States.
Since taking office nearly two years ago, Mr. Calderón has deployed federal police officers and soldiers throughout the countryside to take on traffickers. The authorities attribute the spike in the killings to desperation among the cartels, which once had operated with impunity.
The authorities said it was unclear who had lofted the grenades into the crowd of revelers, but suspicion immediately fell on the drug cartels based in the region that have been singled out by President Felipe Calderón’s government.
The attack took place in Mr. Calderón’s hometown of Morelia, in the central square not far from where he grew up. If drug gangs were responsible, it would be their most brazen act to date, one that made innocents the targets and was clearly meant to send a haunting message to the country.
An emotional Mr. Calderón, who has sent thousands of soldiers to Michoacán and other drug hotspots to combat narcotics traffickers, delivered a nationwide address on Tuesday denouncing those responsible and calling on Mexicans to unite against them.
“On this national holiday, there are cowards hidden in the crowds of patriotic people that have converted joy into sadness and the happiness of Mexican families into sorrow,” he said.
Photographs from the scene showed what resembled a war zone, with bodies scattered across a stone plaza stained with pools of blood. Initial reports said three people were dead, but the toll rose throughout the day.
“First one person went down and then it was like domino pieces,” a witness, Juan José Rosales, told the newspaper El Universal.
The first explosion hit just after 11 p.m. as bells began to ring across Mexico and Gov. Leonel Godoy of Michoacán was delivering the traditional shout for independence, known as the “grito,” before thousands of boisterous revelers.
Across the country, Mexicans were packed together in plazas to celebrate the call for independence by Miguel Hidalgo, a Roman Catholic priest, in 1810. He started a revolt against Spanish rule on Sept. 15 by ringing a bell and shouting “Viva Mexico!”
The event is re-enacted every year by flag-waving Mexicans in what is one of the country’s most cherished traditions.
But in Morelia an explosion rang out just as the bells did on Monday night. Then there was an additional blast, and pandemonium broke out. The resulting cries were of panic and pain.
“Without a doubt, we think that it was organized crime, although this is being investigated by the attorney general’s office,” Mr. Godoy said in a television interview. He later said that witnesses had seen a well-dressed man dressed in black hurl one of the explosives.
The country has experienced a spate of attacks in recent months, although most have appeared to be drug gangs singling out law enforcement officials or rival gangs. On Friday, the police found 24 bodies dumped near the capital. A dozen decapitated corpses had been discovered weeks earlier.
Mexico is the primary trafficking route for Colombian drug cartels moving their contraband into the United States.
Since taking office nearly two years ago, Mr. Calderón has deployed federal police officers and soldiers throughout the countryside to take on traffickers. The authorities attribute the spike in the killings to desperation among the cartels, which once had operated with impunity.
source: A version of this article appeared in print on September 17, 2008, on page A6 of the New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/17/world/americas/17mexico.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper&oref=slogin
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