Mexico City Bombings and Threats

February, 2008

In mid-February of 2008, an unspecified drug cartel attempted to assassinate the Director of the Public Security Ministry (SSPDF) in Mexico City. The bomb exploded prematurely, killing the would-be bomber and wounding two others in a parking garage just 300 yards from the SSPDF on Avenida Chapultepec at Monterrey. Officials evacuated the SSPDF and closed off Avenida Chapultepec between Nuevo León and Insurgentes Centro. NC4 received information from local media within an hour of the explosion using proprietary software that NC4 analysts use to monitor multiple sources in Mexico City. While the incident was later reported in English-language media, details of the localized impact were not.

Less than one week later, a bomb threat was made to the same building. About 2,000 employees were evacuated and a suspicious package was removed from the premises. The same day, a second threat was made to the Procuraduría General de Justicia del Distrito Federal, which was also evacuated and searched. This information was not reported in English-language media.

Officials believe that deeply entrenched drug cartels were angry over recent raids and seizures of weapons. While violence related to the drug trade does not typically affect Mexico City, such crime is rampant throughout other areas of the country.

Selected Updates

NC4 Incident Monitoring Center issued the following alerts:

• At least one person killed, two others wounded in an explosion on Avenida Chapultepec.   2008-02-15, 15:32 CST
  
  
• At least one person killed, two others wounded after two explosions occur on Avenida Chapultepec.   2008-02-15, 15:40 CST
  

• Mexican police evacuate buildings around site of an explosion caused by a bomb. 2008-02-15, 16:39 CST
  

• Officials remove a suspicious package from the Secretaria de Seguridad Pública after a bomb threat.   2008-02-21, 13:47 CST
  
  

 

Additional Resources
NC4 provides ongoing updates to members as the incident unfolds through the NC4 Incident Monitoring Center (NIMC). NIMC analysts follow the incident using official government sources as well as national and local media sources -- including the Prensa Latina breaking news article, “Reciben amenazas de bomba en Ciudad de México” while linking to the Reuters article, “Bomb kills one and wounds two in Mexico City” and the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office that included images from the scene, eyewitness accounts, and situational reports.

One-page printable summary with graphics