By:
Morelia, Michoacán –The self-defense groups should remain in the state as long as the Army doesn’t control and monitor the various municipalities of the state, stated the Mayor of Tancítaro, Salvador Torres Mora, who called on the governor Fausto Vallejo to increase the number of soldiers and reinforcements in the region.
Vallejo answered the mayor’s declarations with security reinforcements, on the night of Wednesday November 20, in five municipalities where self-defense groups operate:Los Reyes, Peribán and Apatzingán, San Juan Nuevo, Uruapan and Tancítaro, areas where clashes have occurred and lives have been lost in recent weeks.
While these municipalities were being reinforced, a new confrontation occurred between the self-defense groups and armed civilians in the municipality of Buenavista Tomatlán, where one person died.
According to first reports from state officials, the confrontation occurred in an area where the Caballeros Templarios don’t want the presence of self-defense groups and thus, fight for control of the area.
Michoacán goes through various scenarios. For example, in Tierra Caliente there is violence and insecurity, but in Morelia there are international music forums, tourism, and a perception of calm. However, for the secretary governor Jesús Reyna García, Michoacán goes through a “painful reality”.
During the National Forum on Safety and Justice the secretary governor explained that the administration of Fausto Vallejo “does the impossible” to reverse the crime rate and therefore stabilize the violence in the region. In fact, he justifies that the violence in the state is due to “poverty and marginalization being incubated for all these decades and therefore weakened the security institutions and law enforcement”.
Asked about his alleged meeting with members of the Caballeros Templarios on a ranch in the state, Jesús Reyna didn’t deny such a meeting; it was Fuasto Vallejo himself who, after giving him support, said that Reyna himself would explain these facts.
“Jesús Reyna García has all my trust, that is why he’s my secretary governor; it will be Reyna himself who will clarify these accusations that have been made against him”, said the governor.
On the other hand, interviewed on the same forum, the public safety secretary Alberto Reyes Vaca, explained that despite the violence, he has not received any request from the 113 municipal presidents to be granted personal security for fear of being attacked by organized crime.
“The mayors can ask the governor because there are many requirements. It doesn’t mean that this isn’t a priority, it is extremely important, but it surely teaches us to see who is in need of security, because this is very sensitive,” he said.
Source: Animal Politico