CIUDAD VICTORIA: Mexican prosecutors have launched an investigation against soldiers over the shooting deaths of six people in a northern state.
The incident occurred on Monday on a highway in Tamaulipas, considered one of Mexico’s most dangerous states due to drug and migrant trafficking gangs.
Numerous violent clashes involving security forces in Tamaulipas have prompted accusations of extrajudicial killings.
The troops involved in the latest deadly incident have been placed under investigation, according to an official with the attorney general’s office.
A defense ministry statement said soldiers were traveling on a highway when a white pickup truck tried to ram one of the army vehicles.
The troops sensed a threat and used their weapons, the ministry said.
Five civilians died on the spot and a sixth died on the way to hospital.
In March, four Mexican soldiers were sentenced to 40 years in prison for killing five civilians in 2023 in Nuevo Laredo.
The border city has been plagued by crime and violence. – AFP