The Bombing in Celaya, Guanajuato Was NOT a Car Bombing

A bomb placed inside a vehicle exploded on the evening of march 8, in a parking lot next to the Guardia Nacional (National Guard; GN) base in Celaya, Guanajuato.

A lot of media are reporting this incident as a car bombing. For example, https://www.borderlandbeat.com/2020/03/car-bomb-in-celaya-explodes-next-to.html, however, from photos of the scene, it is clear that this was merely a small bomb left in the car - what I call a bomb in the car - and not a car bomb, or a bomb so large it requires a vehicle to transport it.

Much of the damage to the vehicle is a from the fire that resulted after the bomb exploded, and was not from the explosion itself. Note the lack of significant damage to the wire fence immediately behind where the vehicle was parked.

Also note that the vehicle chassis and engine block are intact and the lack of shrapnel damage to that white building behind where the vehicle was parked or even the light shade canopy to the left of the vehicle in this photo. A true vehicle bomb/VBIED/car bomb would have created far more damage. This was just a few pounds of explosives (like a small satchel charge) left in the car.

This was likely the Santa Rosa de Lima cartel sending a message. It was not an attempt to cause significant damage or death. They had the means, motive and opportunity to conduct a much larger bombing in this case had they chosen to do so, but they intentionally decided not to deploy a larger bomb. I explain the factors that are constraining them from doing so in this piece: https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/why-dont-mexicos-cartels-use-vehicle-bombs-scott-stewart/