Mexico has deployed thousands of soldiers to bolster security after it erupted following the death of a powerful drug lord. The Secretary of National Defense, Ricardo Trevilla, confirmed last night the sending of 2,500 additional soldiers to the west of the country. Since Sunday, around 9,500 soldiers in total have already been deployed in an attempt to curb the violence.
At least 20 of the 32 states that make up Mexico have suffered and are suffering unrest since he died in police custody on Sunday, shortly after being captured by Mexican special forces in the state of Jalisco. So far, at least 25 members of the Mexican National Guard have died in the state of Jalisco since violence broke out, in clashes with their supporters, Trevilla has confirmed.
The (CJNG) is one of the most feared criminal organizations in Mexico and its leader was the most wanted man in the country. El Mencho was captured after intelligence forces tracked down one of his partners, with whom he was meeting. A failure that has cost him his life, a breach that the information provided by the United States supposedly helped to open.
The US State Department had offered a $15 million reward for information leading to the capture of El Mencho. The Mexican Ministry of Defense said that the operation to capture the drug trafficker was carried out by the Mexican army, supported by the country’s National Guard and Air Force.
The drug lord was seriously injured in a shootout between his bodyguards and the military commandos deployed to capture him, and died while the military was transporting him from the town of Tapalpa to the capital, Mexico City. At least six El Mencho security guards were also killed in the operation, while three members of the Mexican army were wounded, the Defense Ministry said.
The Secretary of Security, Omar García Harfuch, has indicated that a prison guard (civilian), a member of the state prosecutor’s office (also civilian) and 25 members of the El Mencho criminal organization were killed in the riots since his death, according to the AFP news agency. The president of Mexico, praised the army operation that led to the death of El Mencho and said that her priority is to guarantee peace and security throughout the country. “There is calm, there is Government, there are armed forces and there is a lot of coordination,” Sheinbaum said.
“There is calm, there is Government, there are armed forces and there is a lot of coordination”
As news of El Mencho’s death spread, members of his cartel launched attacks in many cities and towns where the CJGN is active. In some localities they blocked the roads by throwing nails and spikes onto the asphalt; In others, they seized buses and other vehicles and then set them on fire in the middle of the road.
Sheinbaum said the roadblocks were cleared Monday morning. However, dozens of local banks and businesses were damaged after cartel members set them on fire. Yesterday was a day of fury, which we are trying to control now, among other things because Mexico is the fifth country in the world with the most tourism, a flank that could be seriously affected if security suffers.
Videos shared on social networks show, in fact, tourists watching from a swimming pool as a military helicopter flies low over their hotel and smoke coming from buildings in the city of Puerto Vallarta, in the state of Jalisco. In many cities, streets were deserted Sunday as local authorities asked residents to seek shelter in their homes. This Monday, the presence of uniformed officers has calmed things down.
The Jalisco Prosecutor’s Office has indicated this morning that there are already 41 detainees for these violent acts, of which around twenty are accused of participating in “acts of violence” while the rest for “acts of looting and plunder.”
The governor of Jalisco, Pablo Lemus, has called on all citizens to “recover our city and our State” and has announced that “if we continue as before, tomorrow (today) the state security table will consider lifting the red code”, adopted this Sunday to coordinate the work of all security and emergency agencies in a “complex” day. To begin with, public transport is expected to return to normal throughout this day.
Prison assault
Still, clashes have occurred between cartel members and the Mexican National Guard in the city of San Isidro, just north of the Jalisco state capital, Guadalajara. There is a video that shows an armed person shooting at several cars, while other images show at least four bodies collapsed next to a car.
CCTV footage from a nearby restaurant shows a vehicle ramming a National Guard truck while cartel members shoot at it around 11:00 local time (seven more in Madrid). The National Guard has not released any details about the incident.
But the most serious thing in the last few hours is that there has been an armed attack against the Ixtapa prison, in Puerto Vallarta, also in Jalisco, which has facilitated the escape of 23 prisoners and left a guard dead, state authorities reported this Monday night. The escape occurred, however, this Sunday, details EFE.
The Secretary of Security of Jalisco, Juan Pablo Hernández, reported in a press conference that the attack was perpetrated from outside the prison and led to a massive escape, which is why alerts were activated in other states and operations were activated to recapture the escapees. “The information we have, the roll call, are 23 PPL (persons deprived of liberty) who are escaped and the corresponding alerts are already being made to the different federal entities for their capture,” Hernández explained.
According to the official, the armed group fired at the facilities and demolished a gate with a vehicle, which opened access and allowed the inmates to escape, in addition to causing the death of a guard.
The escape occurred amid blockades and attacks in different areas of Jalisco and other states, which federal authorities attribute to a reaction by organized crime after the operation against Oseguera.
In this balance, the federal government reported victims and clashes in the region, while state authorities assured that deployments were continuing to regain control and find those responsible.
So far, the list of identities of the 23 escapees in the reports consulted has not been officially released. The authorities reiterated that the priority is his location and capture, in addition to reinforcing prison security after the attack.
