Blast at US consulate in Mexico ahead of Ivanka Trump’s visit
The US consulate in Mexico’s second city, Guadalajara, was attacked with explosives hours before a visit to the country by US vice-president Mike Pence and Ivanka Trump, authorities said.
The explosion late on Friday night damaged a wall but caused no injuries, they said on Saturday. “The investigation has been handed over to federal authorities, who will give information on developments in due time,” the prosecutor’s office for the western state of Jalisco, where Guadalajara is located, said on Twitter.
The attack occurred just before Pence and US President Donald Trump’s daughter and adviser Ivanka flew into Mexico City, heading a high-level US delegation attending the inauguration of Mexico’s new president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
Prosecution sources said a person threw an explosive device at the building and ran away.
The suspect was caught on film by security cameras, but evaded authorities, despite the heavy security presence at the building.
Grenade fragments were found at the scene, according to investigation sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The blast left a 40cm hole in an exterior wall.
In a video posted online in recent days, purportedly by the
GUADALAJARA,MEXICO:
Jalisco New Generation Cartel, the powerful drug trafficking organisation had threatened to attack the consulate.
The cartel, one of the largest and most violent in Mexico, is a top target for US anti-drug operations.
Later on Saturday, Lopez Obrador vowed a “deep and radical” change in Mexico as he assumed the country’s presidency, five months after winning a landslide election victory.
The leader, widely known by his initials as AMLO, took the oath of office and donned the presidential sash before Congress - where the coalition led by the upstart party he founded four years ago, Morena, now has strong majorities in both houses.
King Felipe VI of Spain, Pence and Ivanka attended the ceremony.