Raúl Valencia Saucedo, a retired lieutenant colonel of the Mexican Army Infantry, was sworn in Wednesday, February 20 as the new Commissar of Chapala’s Public Security Department (DSP).
He replaces Amador Bahena Pinzón, who resigned from the post to take a new job in the federal government. Bahena is the former Jocotepec police chief who was hired to take charge of Chapala’s DSP last October under the new municipal government.
Valencia is a 58-year-old native of Durango with a long record of military service at bases spread across the Republic. His background includes training in sharp shooting and SWAT operations by U.S. Delta Forces in North Carolina, and a course on Special Forces tactics under the DEA in Arizona. He also has experience in police work on the state and municipal levels.
His appointment by Chapala Mayor Moisés Anaya was decided on the recommendation of the state government. He faces crime prevention challenges here on the heels of a recent series of shooting incidents apparently linked to an ongoing turf war between rival drug dealers.
At his swearing-in, Valencia expressed strong interest in scheduling a meeting with local expatriates as soon as feasible. Interested readers are advised to follow the Guadalajara Reporter on Facebook for a possible last-minute announcement of a date and place.