Security forces disarmed a municipal police force in Veracruz on Tuesday, making it the 29th such force to be put out of operation in the eastern state in three years.

Officers in San Juan Evangelista, 340 kilometers southeast of Xalapa, were stood down by state police officers, state Fuerza Civil agents, the army and the navy.

The Fuerza Civil assumed responsibility for security in the municipality.

The officers were sent to the Veracruz police academy (CEIS) for evaluation and to ensure they are licensed to carry firearms.

San Juan Evangelista is state’s 29th municipality to be disarmed since Governor Cuitláhuac García took office in December 2018.

The municipalities of Papantla and Zongolica had their police forces disarmed in June, as did Playa Vicente in May and Orizaba in February 2021. In some of the cases, municipal police officers were suspected of collaborating with criminal organizations.

With reports from e-Veracruz