The Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) has announced publicly that it is going after the “plaza” in the state of Morelos, posting narco-signs and distributing a video threatening public officials.
In the video circulating on social media the crime gang accuses officials of covering up the extortion of transportation operators in Amilcingo, Huazulco and Temoac, all belonging to the eastern municipality of Temoac.
Holding a high-power rifle, a man identified as Commander Juárez warns that the CJNG is going after “public servant scourges” and anyone who “bothers the working people.”
This morning, state police force took down several signs announcing the gang’s incursion into the state.
A new wave of criminal activity, including extortion, has triggered the formation of self-defense forces in nine municipalities.
Public Security Commissioner Jesús Alberto Capella told a press conference that efforts to counter violence have been redoubled, and offered a guarantee of safety for the public.
Morelos, like several other states, is going through a transition of government following the July 1 elections. Capella said the transition complicates the situation because criminal gangs from other regions hope to establish themselves in certain areas while that process is under way.
He invited newly elected authorities, who take office later this year, to meet with security officials in order to be aware of the challenges and threats and the advances that have been made in fighting crime.
However, in one report, the security commissioner seemed to blame Cuernavaca Mayor and governor-elect Cuauhtémoc Blanco Bravo of causing the arrival of new criminal gangs.
Without naming the soccer player turned politician by name, Capella said his proposals to disband the single-command state police force “created an internal instability” in the force, with the result that officers relaxed their daily activities.
He said the situation encouraged gangs in neighboring states to enter Morelos.
Source: El Universal (sp), Diario de Morelos (sp)
