Municipalities in the metropolitan area of Guadalajara have joined forces with state and federal authorities to strengthen security in the Jalisco capital for the end-of-year vacation period.

A security operation in which municipal and state police are collaborating with the National Guard began on Thursday and will conclude on January 6. It aims to guarantee security for citizens in the metropolitan area’s shopping, dining and tourist precincts.

“This model is inter-institutional so that all Jalisco residents have a peaceful and calm end to the year without being victims of crime,” state security cabinet chief Macedonio Tamez said on Thursday.

“With this [operation] the municipal, state and federal governments are protecting the city . . .” he added.

One of the municipalities that will see a bolstered security force presence is Zapopan, which borders Guadalajara to the west and north.

An inter-institutional force of 181 members will patrol popular shopping areas in Zapopan such as the Andares mall and surrounding area.

“What we want is to avoid any criminal act,” said Zapopan Mayor Pablo Lemus Navarro.

“That could range from robbery of bank account holders [after withdrawing cash] to theft of a watch. We want to avoid any act of insecurity in the area.”

In Tlaquepaque, which borders Guadalajara to the south, the security operation will cover all 42 neighborhoods that are part of the Magical Town designation. Mayor María Elena Limón said the operation will benefit 280,000 people who are expected to visit the municipality during the vacation period.

The joint security operation is similar to that implemented in Guadalajara during the Buen Fin shopping event last month, the newspaper El Economista said. Shoppers in the Jalisco capital didn’t report any crime problems during the four-day event that concluded November 18.

Source: El Economista (sp)