HomeNews
News

Cartel convoy triggers security reinforcement in Tierra Caliente

Simon Schatzberg
By Simon Schatzberg
0
Police check a vehicle in Guerrero, where security has been stepped up in response to an incursion by the Jalisco cartel.

The government of Guerrero is stepping up security in the Tierra Caliente region of the state after a video circulated on social media showing a convoy of armed civilians entering the municipality of Pungarabato.

In the video, which was uploaded to social media on Wednesday afternoon, a convoy of 11 pickup trucks can be seen driving in what appears to be Ciudad Altamirano, the municipal seat of Pungarabato.

Anonymous sources told the newspaper El Universal that the occupants of the trucks were members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), which is believed to be making an incursion into Guerrero.

State security spokesman Roberto Álvarez Heredia said the government is monitoring the situation, but has not been able to confirm whether drivers of the trucks were members of the CJNG, or whether they were in Ciudad Altamirano. But he also said that neither of those possibilities could be ruled out.

As a precautionary measure, the presence of the army and state police will be ramped up in the region.

Pungarabato lies on Guerrero’s border with Michoacán in the Tierra Caliente region, which includes parts of inland Guerrero and Michoacán. According to state police, the nine Tierra Caliente municipalities in Guerrero are dominated by organized crime groups from Michoacán such as the Familia Michoacana and the Caballeros Templarios, and are considered some of the most violent municipalities in the state.

According to government sources who spoke to the news magazine Proceso, organized crime groups in Pungarabato and five other nearby municipalities have been imposing a curfew and limiting freedom of movement for several days.

Armed civilians have set up checkpoints on the highway between Arcelia and Ciudad Altamirano, they said.

The sources said that leaders of the Familia Michoacana and Caballeros Templarios cartels in Guerrero have made a temporary alliance, and are preparing to fend off an attempt by the CJNG to take over.

Residents of the municipalities told Proceso that for the past several days they have been hearing messages played on loudspeakers urging people to stay in their homes because of the violence.

Source: El Universal (sp), Proceso (sp)

Have something to say? Paid Subscribers get all access to make & read comments.
CNTE campamento

With direct talks broken off, police prepare for more protest actions from CNTE

MND Staff - 0
The teachers' union rejected the government's "final" offer and proceeded to take over highway toll booths on Monday. There are signs, however, that the members' resolve is starting to wane.
Joel Bravo

Armed men kill Oaxaca mayor who had requested government protection

MND Staff - 0
According to party representatives, Mayor of San Miguel Amatitlán Joel Bravo had told state authorities that he feared for his life and asked for protection from the state government at a regional security meeting on May 11.
A young woman standing outside in a Guadalajara plaza wearing a Mexico National Selection T-shirt and a lucha libre mask over most of her face poses, smiling, with arms outstretched toward the camera. In the distant background, the colorful FIFA Fan Fest event stage can be seen.

MND Local: FIFA World Cup fever takes over Guadalajara’s metro zone

Dawn Stoner - 0
After Mexico's emphatic win over South Africa and the city successfully pulling off its first FIFA World Cup host game, Guadalajara was in the mood to celebrate this weekend.
BETA Version - Powered by Perplexity

VIDEO OF THE WEEK