The federal government will send 10,200 police and military personnel to 17 high-crime locations in a new security operation that was first announced earlier this week by President López Obrador.

Security Secretary Alfonso Durazo told a press conference today that each of the 17 areas, which have been identified as having the highest number of homicides, will receive 600 personnel.

He said the deployments would be permanent, a fact that makes the new operation distinct.

“That is the difference with this strategy: it is one thing to carry out operations by sending forces from Mexico City to Tijuana and then having them return . . . and a very different one to have a permanent force responsible in a permanent manner for problems of insecurity,” Durazo said.

He also indicated it was a de-facto initiation of the proposed new national guard, which is awaiting congressional approval.

Instead of high-caliber firearms, the security forces will carry only those approved by security protocols.

The program began on Monday when forces were sent to strengthen security efforts in Tijuana, Baja California.

The other 16 locations are Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua; Acapulco and Chilpancingo, Guerrero; Atlacomulco and Ecatepec, México state; Benito Juárez (Cancún), Quintana Roo; Guadalajara, Jalisco; Salamanca, Uriangato, Irapuato and Celaya, Guanajuato; Culiacán, Sinaloa; Manzanillo, Colima; Monterrey, Nuevo León; and Nuevo Laredo and Reynosa, Tamaulipas.

Homicide numbers last year were the highest ever recorded at 33,341, up 15% over 2017.

Source: Milenio (sp), El Financiero (sp)