That Corvette seen traveling at high speed on highways in Guanajuato is not fleeing the police — it is the police.
The state has added several luxury and sports cars to its fleet of patrol vehicles, but they didn’t have to purchase them.
The government announced that six Camaros, a Corvette, a Mustang and two Cadillacs seized from crime gangs have been repainted and furnished with the insignia of the state police.
The state security secretary said the new vehicles will help to meet the objective of converting the Guanajuato police into the best in the country.
During a ceremony led by Governor Diego Sinhué Rodríguez Vallejo, it was explained that the new patrol cars will give the force a new image, one of trust and one that reflects respect, admiration and strength, along with humility, service and courtesy.
The state government also announced the creation of two new police divisions. One is a 201-member rural police force that will be deployed in northern and southern Guanajuato municipalities with high rates of robbery.
A second, smaller force of 37 officers will make up the a tourist police division that will be stationed principally in Guanajuato and San Miguel de Allende, as well as in the “magical towns” of Comonfort, Dolores Hidalgo, Jalpa de Cánovas, Salvatierra, Mineral de Pozos and Yuriria.
Security has been a complicated issue for the state, which last year led the country in homicides with 3,290, three times more than the 2017 figure. The murders are largely the result of turf wars between crime gangs fighting over pipeline fuel theft.
Source: El Universal (sp), Milenio (sp)
