Posted: Nov 25, 2021 13:30 GMT
This security plan, which includes actions in neighboring states, is expected to last a month, given the alarming figures of 1,267 murders so far in 2021.
Since this Thursday, 3,800 Army and National Guard personnel, as well as three helicopter gunships, are deployed in the Mexican state of Zacatecas with the aim of containing the wave of violence that is being experienced in this entity, located in the central north of the country.
The head of the Ministry of National Defense (Sedena), Luis Cresencio Sandoval, offered details about the security reinforcement plan, which will be evaluated in 30 days, during a meeting with the Mexican president, Manuel Andrés López Obrador, who on Wednesday moved to Zacatecas.
The number of homicides in that state has nearly tripled in the last two years. In 2019, 560 murders; in 2020 a total of 920, while so far this year there have already been 1,267 people killed, with the forecast that the figure will reach 1,500 by the end of 2021, according to Sandoval.
The security plan
The Secretary of National Defense announced that starting this Thursday the military presence in Zacatecas will be reinforced with 460 additional uniformed.
Different military forces operate in that area. There are currently 1,744 members of the Army, to which 210 will be added, and 1,644 National Guard officials, to which 250 will be added, for a general total of 3,848 elements deployed in the state.
Sandoval explained that important communication routes converge in Zacatecas that connect it with nine neighboring states, which is used by criminal groups to expand their activities.
The proposal of this security plan is to allocate 1,940 troops in the center of the State, where the greatest acts of violence have been registered; 804 in the north and 1,104 in the south. With this reinforcement there are a total of 5,177 employees of different security forces.
In the same way, Sandoval affirmed that to avoid the confrontation of criminal groups they will also act in the border areas with other entities.
“The military zones of San Luis Potosí, Guanajuato, Aguascalientes and Jalisco will join this strategy,” which implies “90 elements for each one and, in total, 360 troops to contain criminals,” said the head of National Security. . “We seek that the operation is not static but very mobile“, I add.
This plan is expected to be extended for 30 days. Upon completion, the result will be evaluated and the deployment will be reconsidered.
The causes of violence
During the presentation of the plan to support Zacatecas, the Mexican president assured that the violence can only be ended by going to the causes. “We are going to serve young people because violence should not be confronted with violence,” he argued.
López Obrador reported that next year 14,000 people between the ages of 18 and 29 are expected to be enrolled in the social plan ‘Young People Building the Future’, aimed at linking those who do not have a job or study with companies and workshops. Currently there are 9,148 young people working as apprentices.
“This is essential because you have to remove the seedbed, we must take away the reserve army from the criminals. That is the best way to face the serious problem of insecurity and violence, it certainly takes time, “said the Mexican president.
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