A show of force in Uruapan.
Eleven people have been killed since the implementation last Thursday of a security plan by the state and federal governments that seeks to reduce violence in the Michoacán city.
The murders occurred in seven different incidents in the city, which is home to 315,000 people and lies 70 miles southwest of the state capital. Most of those killed died of gunshot wounds.
The bloody weekend follows a trend of rising violence. In the first four months of 2019, Uruapan registered 39 homicides, the highest in five years.
Last Thursday, Michoacán Governor Silvano Aureoles Conejo announced the second phase of a security plan, which includes the deployment of 400 state police and 200 federal personnel to patrol the city.
Aureoles also said that by the end of the year, Uruapan will have the 800 municipal police officers necessary for a city its size. The governor promised there will be “no truce” with organized crime.
“We need to confront the security challenge head on, and go as far as necessary,” said Aureoles. “We’re not going back to the days when criminals were in charge.”
Uruapan Mayor Víctor Manuel Manríquez González recognized the complexity of the problem, and the need for cooperation between federal, state and local authorities.
“Having support from the people is fundamental, because we won’t be able to end insecurity alone,” he said. “It’s important for us to be close to the public so we can improve conditions.”
The Uruapan security plan was announced after a deadly confrontation on May 22 between Los Viagras and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel killed 10 people. The next day, the burned remains of five people were found in an abandoned pickup truck on the Uruapan-Los Reyes highway.
Source: El Universal (sp), Proceso (sp), Mi Morelia (sp)
