Mexican cartels craft their own armored vehicles. Criminal groups have acquired military-grade weapons. A total of 18 artisanally armored vehicles, known as 'monsters,' used by criminal groups and linked to 16 case files, were destroyed, Mexico's Attorney General's Office (FGR) reported this Sunday. In a statement, the FGR indicated that the destruction of the vehicles took place at the Prosecutor's facilities in the city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas, which borders the United States. These actions are part of the 'Program for the Destination of Goods and Objects of Crime,' established in the National Code of Criminal Procedure, which provides for the destruction of items used as instruments of crime. The units destroyed, the FGR explained, 'were seized between December 2025 and February 2026,' in collaboration with municipal, state, and federal authorities during several operations coordinated by the Government of Mexico's Security Cabinet, through the Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena). According to the investigations, 'the vehicles were probably used by members of criminal groups and were linked to 16 investigation folders,' the institution stated. In clashes with police and military, or with other criminal organizations, members of drug cartels often use these 'monster' cars. They are handcrafted from truck frames and equipped with thick layers of metal for armor. These monster vehicles are used by members of drug groups to fight the Army and other enemy criminal groups. Recently, the trial against Peter Dimitrov Mirchev, identified as a key contact for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), has provided new leads in this regard. Mirchev has been identified by U.S. authorities as a supplier to the CJNG of weapons such as machine guns, rocket launchers, grenades, and sniper rifles, as well as tactical equipment including night vision gear and anti-personnel mines. Mirchev's alliance with the CJNG dates back to 2022, according to a judicial record. Since 2015, the CJNG has 'shown off' its capabilities by displaying and using heavy-caliber weapons in clashes with the Mexican Air Force and the Army.
