U.S. consulate in Mexico is attacked with grenade

Mexican authorities are investigating an apparent grenade attack on the U.S. consulate in the city of Guadalajara, officials said on Saturday.

The attack took place early on Saturday morning, ahead of the swearing in of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador later in the day, underscoring the security challenges facing Mexico’s new president.

No one was killed or injured in the attack and Mexican authorities are investigating the matter, according to a U.S. official in Mexico.

Jalisco state prosecutors wrote on their Twitter account that federal authorities had taken over the investigation of the incident.

Members of the Mexican Army stand guard outside the US Consulate in Guadalajara, Mexico on Saturday after an attack with an explosive device left a wall damaged but nobody injured

Mexican soldiers stand guard outside the US Consulate in Guadalajara, Mexico on Saturday

Mexican soldiers stand guard outside the US Consulate in Guadalajara, Mexico on Saturday

The grenade attack took place hours before the swearing in of Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, seen giving his first speech in office above

The grenade attack took place hours before the swearing in of Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, seen giving his first speech in office above

The state is the home base of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, which is considered one of the most powerful gangs in Mexico by U.S. and Mexican authorities.

The gang’s leader, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, or ‘El Mencho’ is on the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s most wanted list.

Violence has surged in Jalisco and across Mexico, which is seeing record levels of killings. 

Jalisco’s incoming governor, Enrique Alfaro, is set to take power next weekend.

Meanwhile, in his first speech as Mexico’s president, Obrador vowed to put an end a ‘rapacious’ elite in a country struggling with corruption, chronic poverty and gang violence on the doorstep of the United States.

Backed by a gigantic Mexican flag, the 65-year-old took the oath of office in the lower house of Congress, pledging to bring about a ‘radical’ rebirth of Mexico to overturn what he called a disastrous legacy of decades of ‘neo-liberal’ governments. 

AMLO receives a ceremonial blessing from representatives of Mexico's indigenous peoples during his inauguration ceremony in Mexico City on Saturday

AMLO receives a ceremonial blessing from representatives of Mexico’s indigenous peoples during his inauguration ceremony in Mexico City on Saturday

AMLO holds up the staff of command received from indigenous people at his swearing in

AMLO holds up the staff of command received from indigenous people at his swearing in

‘The government will no longer be a committee at the service of a rapacious minority,’ said the new president, who is often nicknamed AMLO for his initials. 

Nor would the government, he said, be a ‘simple facilitator of pillaging, as it has been.’ 

Lopez Obrador later addressed a massive crowd of supporters in the heart of the capital, promising to put Mexico’s sizeable indigenous minority first in his drive to root out inequality.

A major challenge facing the new leader is managing relations with Mexico’s top trading partner, the United States, after repeated broadsides by President Donald Trump against Mexico over illegal immigrants crossing the U.S. border.

Lopez Obrador repeated he was seeking to contain migration through a deal with Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to foster development in Central America and Mexico.

 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk