If over the next few weeks, you notice an uptick in the number and frequency of military convoys patrolling your town or neighborhood, as well as a lot more checkpoints installed on highways, don’t be unduly alarmed.
The latest move by federal authorities to combat the activities of organized crime in Jalisco and guarantee the safety of law-abiding citizens has been to deploy an extra 2,500 troops in different parts of the state.
The decision by the Ministry of Defense (Sedena) is in response to a series of violent confrontations in recent weeks involving federal forces in Ocotlan and Teocaltiche.
According to Sedena, the additional soldiers will act as a deterrence, while their duties will mainly involve reconnaissance, investigation and the establishment of military checkpoints to generate “an environment of tranquility among the population.”
A spokesperson for the V Military Region said the deployment of additional troops in the state is part of the federal government’s national public security strategy of zero tolerance toward criminal organizations.
Three Mexican Army soldiers were killed last month during an ambush in the municipality of Teocaltiche in the west of the state, while a National Guard officer was badly injured in a shootout in Ocotlan on the shores of Lake Chapala.
Sedena also affirmed that the extra troops will “carry out inter-institutional operations in coordination with federal, state and municipal authorities, adhering to laws on the use of force and respecting human rights at all times.”