Drug cartels in Mexico are increasingly using dangerous tactics such as car bombs, explosives-laden drones, and homemade bombs, raising serious security concerns. The most recent attack occurred on Sunday night near a police station in Ojocaliente, a small city located 360 miles northwest of Mexico City. Although no one was killed, the explosion of 200 kilograms of explosives injured 11 people and damaged more than 60 homes in the city center, according to Mexico's security chief, Omar García Harfuch. So far this year, the state of Zacatecas has recorded 23 attacks involving explosives, including six in which cars or motorcycles were packed with explosives, according to state Attorney General Cristian Paul Camacho. Car bombs, while rare in Mexico, have been used for decades. Professor Victor Manuel Sánchez from the University of Coahuila noted that one of the earliest known incidents was a 1994 attack in Guadalajara by the Tijuana Cartel, which targeted Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, a co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel, who was later convicted in the U.S. In recent years, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) has increasingly turned to explosives as it expands its influence across the country. Authorities have linked two recent bombings in small cities— one in Michoacán in December that killed five people and the attack in Zacatecas—to the CJNG. The group was designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the Trump administration. Mexican cartels began using explosives more frequently about five years ago, often dropping them from drones or burying them in the ground to attack security forces, rival groups, or to defend and control territory. In 2023, road bombs in the western state of Jalisco killed six people and injured 14 others. That same year, the military acknowledged the growing threat and reported having seized about 2,800 explosive devices nationwide over the previous 4.5 years. In 2024, authorities in Michoacán alone deactivated nearly 3,200 explosive devices. In 2025, an explosive device in Michoacán killed eight soldiers in one of the deadliest incidents of its kind in recent years. While more recent nationwide figures have not been released, the trend shows a continued increase in the use of such tactics. Experts suggest that car bombs and other explosive devices are used by cartels to intimidate rivals, pressure the government, and instill fear in civilians. Carlos Pérez Ricart, a professor at Mexico’s CIDE university, noted that such attacks can also draw public attention and may be used to push authorities into negotiations, especially when criminal groups feel cornered. Vanda Felbab-Brown, an organized crime expert at the Brookings Institution, warned that the rise in violent tactics has worsened the climate of fear and retaliation in Mexico. Mexico has traditionally avoided labeling cartel violence as terrorism, in part due to concerns that such a designation could lead to foreign military intervention or harm the country’s tourism and investment sectors. Felbab-Brown explained that another reason is the perceived difference between terrorism, which is often politically motivated, and cartel activity, which is primarily driven by profit. However, civilians have still been deliberately targeted in attacks, such as the 2008 grenade attack in Morelia, which killed eight people, and the 2011 casino fire in northern Mexico that claimed 52 lives. The Trump administration’s designation of eight Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations has further complicated the use of the term, especially as legal challenges to such actions continue in the U.S. and abroad. Pérez Ricart cautioned that applying counterterrorism strategies to organized crime may not be effective, as the drug trade involves a broader illegal market rather than just an armed group.