Video Shows CJNG Member Burying Landmine in Apatzingán, Michoacán

By "El Huaso" for Borderland Beat

A new video posted by a CJNG member on TikTok shows a sicario burying and preparing a homemade landmine, likely somewhere near Apatzingán, Michoacán.

The 18 second video was posted by TikTok user Pantera.r25, a user who has uploaded several videos suggesting he is a member of the CJNG operating in Michoacán. In the video, a man is seen arranging and testing wires coming from a half buried explosive using a multimeter.

Landmines are one of the rarer forms of improvised explosive devices in Mexico, mostly being used to stop incursions from rival groups and the gov on unofficial access roads in the countryside called "brechas" in the states of Michoacán and Tamaulipas. 

In Michoacán, landmines were initially used by the CJNG in their fight against Carteles Unidos around 2021, but now several groups involved in the conflict have begun creating and deploying their own. Government figures on the number of landmines in the state are hard to find, but according to InfoBae, in the first quarter of 2022, the Mexican Army deactivated more than 150 mines just in Tepalcatepec. The usage of all explosives has greatly increased in the last several years, so updated figures would likely far exceed the 2022 data point.

Sources: Original Video from TikTok, Leonardo Alfonso Galicia Twitter, Grupo Animal