EXPLOSION AT US CONSULATE IN MEXICO BEFORE IVANKA’S VISIT

GUADALAJARA,MEXICO: 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 on a wall.

In a video posted online in recent days, purportedly by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, the powerful drug trafficking organisation had threatened to attack the consulate.