Mexican police were trying to determine on Friday who hung several banners in a colonial city blaming Gulf cartel hit men for a grenade attack that killed seven people in an Independence Day crowd.
Michoacan state prosecutor Miguel Garcia said officials removed the seven banners allegedly signed by the powerful La Familia drug gang and hung overnight from pedestrian bridges. Investigators were trying to determine whether they are authentic.
Federal investigators suspect a gang known as La Familia was behind Monday’s attack, in which two fragmentation grenades killed seven people and wounded 108 in the Michoacan state capital of Morelia.
Attorney General Eduardo Medina Mora announced a 10 million peso (US$940,000) reward for anyone who provides information leading to the capture of those behind the attack. Details of the offer will be advertised in newspapers.
“We hope to get a response in the next hours to this offer,” Medina Mora said.
The banners blamed the Zetas, a notorious band of Gulf cartel hit men. A similar message was sent to the cellphones of reporters and residents earlier this week.
“Coward is the word for those who attack the country’s peace and tranquility,” read one of the signs. “Mexico and Michoacan are not alone. Thanks for your cowardly acts, Zetas. Sincerely, F.M.” — the Spanish initials for “Michoacan Family.”
The text messages and the banners raised doubts about a supposed alliance between La Familia and the Gulf cartel.
It remains unclear why drug traffickers would turn from killing their enemies to carrying out attacks against the general public, something unheard of in Mexico. Governments around the globe have condemned it.
Mexican President Felipe Calderon, who promised an immediate military response, said he would send Congress a security package on Friday calling for better training and better equipment for police, among other measures.
The government also announced rewards of 1,000 pesos to 5,000 pesos for citizens who provide information leading to the arrest of any criminals.
Authorities were still searching for suspects in the Morelia attack and have released a composite sketch of one, based on descriptions from witnesses who saw a tall man lob a grenade into the crowd, beg for forgiveness and then slip away.
Federal investigators determined two men detained by the army on Thursday in the northern state of Zacatecas were not involved.
Officials said they received a threat against Michoacan’s military parade on Tuesday, but not Monday night’s celebrations.
Excelsior newspaper obtained a copy of the call, made a week before the attacks. In it, a man who said he belonged to La Familia warned that the gang was planning to lob grenades at soldiers marching in the traditional Sept. 16 military parade, and he asked officials to keep schoolchildren at a distance.
“Our problem is with the military, not civilians,” the caller was quoted as saying.
Mexico’s relentless violence continued on Friday with a shootout between police and armed men in the central state of Guanajuato.
Mexican media said several officers and gunmen were wounded.
Twelve suspects were arrested, Medina Mora told a news conference. In an earlier interview with Radio Formula, he said members of La Familia may have been involved.
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