Around 19:00 hours yesterday, a home made explosive device in the shape of a book blew up in the office of Mexican senator Citlalli Hernández . Her office is located on the third floor of the Senate headquarters.
Still in shock, her clothes covered in white dust and showing slight burns, the legislator left her office immediately and headed to the infirmary, according to her co-workers.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador
said Thursday that the device received by Citlalli Hernández was a “homemade bomb” designed “to cause damage.” He said the attorney general’s office was investigating.
The 29-year-old Hernández represents Mexico City and previously served in the lower Chamber of Deputies. She’s a leftist and social activist from López Obrador’s MORENA party .
Shortly after, MORENA coordinator Ricardo Monreal said that her colleague was out of harm’s way, with some slight injuries, and that they were considering whether she should be taken to a hospital.
The entire floor was cordoned off by security officers and civil protection agents who commented that there had been no fire and that no one heard the explosion outside of her office.
Citlalli Hernández wrote on social media from a healthcare cubicle in the upper house that she was feeling well and stronger than ever. She sharply condemned the “violent and intimidatory” attack that she suffered in her office.
“I reiterate my conviction that the revolution of the people and the change that we want to generate for this country will happen, and it will happen in a peaceful way. I appreciate your concern and your love,” she expressed.
In a press conference, Monreal Ávila confirmed that internal security had not been properly reinforced yet, but that the incident occurred at the senator’s office constituted a “wake-up call.” He announced that the Political Coordination Council would consider expanding security measures to protect public officials.
“There will be more restrictive measures for the delivery and revision of packages and bags. This is a wake-up call that we can’t ignore,” he stated.
Ávila spoke with the attorney general, Alejandro Gertz Manero , to send bomb experts and alert prosecutors, providing all footage required to begin a thorough investigation.
According to Senator Ricardo Monreal , Hernández claimed that she had received a package in the shape of a book and that the explosive artifact was detonated right at the moment she opened it. The senator claimed that she had not received threats of any kind before. “She is a very peaceful woman from Iztapalapa. She is honorable, active, and respectable,” he stated.
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