Overview

• Seventeen suspects, including a dozen former Colombian soldiers and five Mexicans, were detained in raids across Los Reyes, Michoacan following a deadly landmine ambush.
• An improvised landmine detonated late Tuesday, destroying an armored vehicle and killing eight soldiers.
• Authorities confiscated more than 40 explosive devices along with firearms, gunpowder and plastic explosives during the operation.
• Investigators link the suspects to the Carteles Unidos faction of the Familia Michoacana, which is locked in turf battles against the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
• Security experts attribute the presence of Colombian ex-military and former FARC members to post-disarmament unemployment and foreign recruitment strategies by Mexican cartels.