Banners hung in Mexico blame hit men for attack

Michoacan state prosecutor Miguel Garcia said officials removed the seven banners allegedly signed by the powerful La Familia drug gang and hung overnight from pedestrian bridges. Investigators are trying to determine whether they are authentic.

Federal investigators suspect a gang known as La Familia, or "the family," was behind Monday's attack, in which two fragmentation grenades killed seven people and wounded 108 in the Michoacan state capital of Morelia.

Attorney General Eduardo Medina Mora announced a $940,000 reward for anyone who provides information leading to the capture of those behind the attack. Details of the offer will be advertised in newspapers.

"We hope to get a response in the next hours to this offer," Medina Mora said.

The banners blamed the Zetas, a notorious band of Gulf cartel hit men. A similar message was sent to the cell phones of reporters and residents earlier this week.

"Coward is the word for those who attack the country's peace and tranquility," read one of the signs. "Mexico and Michoacan are not alone. Thanks for your cowardly acts, Zetas. Sincerely, F.M."--the Spanish initials for "Michoacan Family."

The text messages and the banners raised doubts about a supposed alliance between La Familia and the Gulf cartel.

It remains unclear why drug traffickers would turn from killing their enemies to carrying out attacks against the general public, something unheard of in Mexico. Governments around the globe have condemned it.

President Felipe Calderon, who promised an immediate military response, said he would send Congress a security package Friday calling for better training and better equipment for police, among other measures.