Peace is coming to Mexico in spite of continuing crime, the security secretary said.

Public Security Secretary Alfonso Durazo told a press conference Friday that although the administration’s anti-crime strategy has not yet been successful at reducing crime levels, Mexico is getting closer to achieving peace.

“We are confident that the day is near when peace and tranquility will return, and that’s not wishful thinking,” he said. “Even though there are events with a level of brutality like that of Coatzacoalcos, we have the National Guard thanks to support from Congress, which will allow the state to guarantee peace and security.”

Durazo noted that security won’t be achieved overnight, and admitted that the National Guard still doesn’t have the numbers it needs.

“We have the Guard, but our short-term challenge is that it’s still not big enough to guarantee security,” he said.

There are currently 60,000 National Guard troops deployed around the country. Durazo said the government hopes to end 2019 with 80,000, and have 150,000 by 2021.

He added that although crime rates have not declined, the fact that they have not risen can be attributed to the administration’s policies.

“With the measures we’ve been taking in this government, we’re sure that we’ll be able to deliver good results to the public,” he said. “We can say that we’ve been able to halt the growth of the rates of most crimes.”

Source: El Universal (sp)