Mexico destroys 14 homemade armored vehicles of drug gangs

Mexican authorities have destroyed 14 armored vehicles converted from trucks by drug gangs for use in violence.

Images released by the Mexican Attorney General's office on June 18 show officials using a crane with a steel clamp to destroy confiscated homemade armored vehicles in the city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas state.

Known in Mexico as “beasts,” these vehicles are homemade by drug cartels who weld large steel plates onto civilian trucks. Many sport giant steel plowshares at the front, while others have loopholes and machine gun turrets.

A crane destroys a homemade armored vehicle used by a gang in the city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas state, northern Mexico, in this photo released on June 18. Photo: AP

At least one was painted in green camouflage to look like a Mexican army vehicle. Last August, the state of Tamaulipas announced it had seized 257 such vehicles in the past four years.

Tamaulipas, a state bordering Texas, is home to two drug gangs, the Northeast and the Gulf, who are battling for territory. Prosecutors did not say which gang the homemade vehicles belonged to or when they were seized.

Such vehicles may look intimidating, but they are vulnerable. The thick welded steel plates add weight, making them slow, cumbersome, and prone to breakdowns. They are also easy to spot, vulnerable to Molotov cocktails or incendiary bullets. Mexican authorities have found many burned out.

Homemade armored vehicles are among the many weapons Mexican gangs use to confront rivals and authorities. The gangs also use improvised explosive devices and grenade-dropping drones to deal with authorities.

Huyen Le (According to AP, DC News Now )

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