Two suspects held in Mexican Independence Day attack
Authorities are investigating whether the drug gang La Familia was in involved in Monday's grenade attack in western Michoacan state that killed seven people.
MEXICO CITY — Two men were being held as possible suspects in the fatal grenade attack this week on an Independence Day celebration in western Michoacan state, authorities said today.
The two were detained in northern Zacatecas state late Wednesday after being hospitalized with injuries after a car crash. The men were held by the Mexican army, which is leading the government's campaign against drug traffickers.
Authorities said they were investigating whether a Michoacan-based drug gang known as La Familia was involved in Monday's twin grenade attack in Morelia, the state capital. Seven people died, and more than 100 were hurt. Officials previously blamed organized crime but they did not specify a group.
A third suspect was arrested in Michoacan, Mexican media report. But state officials confirmed only the Zacatecas arrests and gave few details. The federal attorney general's office, which is in charge of the investigation, did not comment.
Mexican news reports said the pair detained in the Zacatecas capital, also named Zacatecas, appeared to bear injuries similar to shrapnel wounds suffered by victims of the grenade attack.
A spokeswoman in the federal attorney general's office confirmed that investigators were exploring whether La Familia was behind the attack. A text message purportedly sent out by the group a day earlier denied involvement.
The text message steered blame toward the Zetas, a brutal gang that got its start as the armed wing of the so-called Gulf Cartel. La Familia and the Zetas were considered allies; the message, if authentic, might suggest a split.
The attackers' motives remained unclear today. Some analysts believe the violence against civilians may have been an attempt to pressure Mexican President Felipe Calderon into abandoning his nearly 2-year-old crackdown on organized crime. The president is from Michoacan.
The attack further rattled Mexicans, who have watched drug-related killings soar to more than 3,000 this year, according to Mexican media counts.
Most of the slayings have been attributed to turf wars between drug gangs thrown off balance by the government campaign. Bystanders have been killed in the crossfire during the crackdown, but civilians were not directly targeted before Monday's attack.
ken.ellingwood@latimes.com
Cecilia Sanchez of The Times' Mexico City bureau contributed to this report.
