The United States said Wednesday it is in contact with Mexican authorities and PepsiCo Inc. (IW 500/20) after a series of arson attacks on the company's Sabritas subsidiary late last week.
Mexican authorities have detained four suspected drug cartel members in their investigation into the attacks on five Sabritas facilities in western and central Mexico that destroyed at least 30 vehicles but hurt no one.
"The United States strongly condemns these attacks and all acts of criminal violence," the State Department said in a statement.
"Our embassy in Mexico City is in contact with company officials and Mexican authorities," it added.
"President Calderon, the Mexican government, and the Mexican people have shown great courage and determination in the face of challenges and threats from transnational criminal organizations," it said.
"The United States will continue to assist Mexico's efforts to disrupt and dismantle criminal organizations in strict accordance with Mexican law and with respect for Mexican sovereignty," said the statement.
Prosecutors in the central Guanajuato state said Monday that four members of the Knights Templar cartel had been detained and implicated in the attacks, which took place on Friday night.
The Knights Templar has been locked in a turf war with the La Familia cartel in the Guanajuato and Michoacan provinces, where the attacks took place.
Mexico has been gripped by a massive crime wave in recent years, with more than 50,000 people believed to have been killed in drug-related violence since the launch of a military crackdown on the cartels in 2006.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2012
