In
Mexico, narco tanks have been extensively manufactured and operated by drug cartels and other gangs involved in the
Mexican Drug War.[3][4][5][6] They are often modified
semi-trucks,
dump trucks,
pickup trucks, or other large vehicles not intended for such a purpose, and come equipped with varying levels of protection and attack capability. Mexican authorities have seized about twenty such armored trucks in the state of
Tamaulipas alone, four of which were later destroyed.[7] Cartels also began to build narco tanks with the armor installed on the interior rather than outside the vehicle, to draw away suspicion from rival drug cartels and the Mexican government. On May 22, 2011, one such vehicle belonging to the
Sinaloa Cartel was seized in the state of
Jalisco.[3] On May 25, that same year, One narco tank was destroyed in the
Battle of Ruíz.[8] In 2015, Mexican authorities found a narco tank factory in
Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas that had eight vehicles in it, which were in the process of having armor plates with
firing ports added to them.[9] Some narco tanks are equipped with improvised
battering rams on the front to break through
roadblocks.[10] Narco Tanks were notably used in the
Battle of Culiacán.[11][12] Five narco tanks were destroyed in the
Battle of Doctor Coss between 13 March and 14 March 2021.[13][14]