Improvised Anti-Vehicle Land Mines (IAVMs) in Mexico: Cartel Emergent Weaponry Use
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(Homeland Security Today) The use of anti-vehicle land mines by criminal cartels is now part of Mexico’s violent criminal landscape. This phase of improvised explosive devices represents an escalation of improvised explosive device (IED) use against state forces and criminal rivals.
Essentially, improvised land (anti-vehicle) mines are being deployed for defensive purposes. That is, they are used to protect small urban enclaves under cartel control from Mexican Federal forces (police and military) and rival cartels or autodefensas (self-defense forces). The Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) is at the center of these defensive measures used to blunt offensive actions by their rivals.
These trends are of concern not only to Mexican police and military, but also to law enforcement personnel throughout the Western Hemisphere.