After 11 people were killed last week in the Guanajuato municipality of Apaseo el Alto, Mayor María del Carmen Ortiz wants the navy to send marines back to improve the security situation.

“I would say to the citizens that I am working with delegates to tell them what is happening, and that they aren’t alone, and that I’m doing everything I can to stop this,” she said in an interview with the newspaper Milenio. “The navy should come back, that’s what worked.”

Marines were withdrawn September 1, after which the mayor said she was unaware of the reason.

She stressed that last Thursday’s violence was not new, which she said shows that the security strategy being pursued by the state and federal governments is not working.

“I think that, seeing how the violence has increased, the strategies haven’t worked,” she said. “I think it has to do with communication.”

Security in Apaseo el Alto is carried out under a single-command model, where police are controlled by the state rather than municipal government, but the municipality will be given control of the police at the end of the year.

The killing began early Friday morning when a group of armed civilians attacked three homes in the community of San Juan del Llanito, killing six people. Five of the attackers were killed later in a confrontation with the National Guard.

After the murder two weeks ago of a municipal councilor, the Morena party mayor said she felt abandoned by the state, observing that violence was worsening after improvements had been seen in recent months. The state is governed by the National Action Party.

The mayor’s husband was murdered last year while running for mayor himself. His wife ran in his stead after his murder and won the election.

Source: Milenio (sp)