“Char” for Borderland Beat
This article was translated and reposted from EL OCCIDENTAL
The mayor indicated that as soon as he became aware of the incident, he contacted the coordinator of the Security Cabinet.
Román Ortega | El Occidental
The mayor of Mazamitla, Jorge Magaña, informed that the members of a criminal group that last Sunday distributed toys in the streets of the center of the town took advantage of the few personnel that the municipal police have as well as the spaces in the routes of the National Guard and the Mexican Army to distribute the toys among the population on the occasion of Three Kings Day.
“Yes, in fact, since yesterday we have been in communication with the state security coordinator, Ricardo Lánchez Beruben, to work on this issue. I was just commenting to him that yesterday (Sunday) there were some tours of the National Guard, and that in one of the lapses between these tours these people took advantage to make an income and to be able to give this type of gifts of toys to the population.
The mayor indicated that since he became aware of this incident, he contacted the coordinator of the Security Cabinet, Ricardo Sánchez Berbuen, to request the reinforcement of surveillance with state and federal elements.
“So, now we are in talks with them to follow the indications and coordination to reinforce and prevent this type of situation from happening again”.
At the moment in which the subjects made the delivery, there were only seven policemen on duty, three of which were on radio booth duty and the others were attending to a service related to a robbery, which is why the municipal officers were unable to verify the situation.
Although Mazamitla is a tourist destination, the demand of services for the Municipal Police personnel is greater than in other localities.
“I believe that one of the problems of the municipalities in the interior, especially in the far away municipalities, is the amount of the state of force because many times it does not respond to what the municipality requires. And more in our case, due to the tourist theme, the demand for services, both public safety and civil protection, is much higher than any other municipality of the same population”.
The mayor indicated that the police station has 26 elements, of which 13 are on vacation, after the end of the holiday period.
“This responds to the fact that there have been few elements, in addition, in this shift”.
The Mexican Army has a permanent base in the Municipal Sports Unit, and they make patrols to the peripheries with the State of Michoacán and neighboring municipalities.
“The National Guard also makes continuous patrols throughout the region, and precisely this makes it difficult to have a permanent surveillance of some points,” stressed the mayor.
Videos
Through videos posted on social networks, it is observed that several recent model vehicles, with the initials CJNG and the legend “Happy Three Kings Day”, pass by 16 de Septiembre street, in front of the Main Square and 80 meters from the City Hall.
At least four vans were seen with the initials of the criminal group painted on them, and in three of them there were minors: two of them, a child and a teenager, were on the awning and a third one was coming out of the sunroof of the vehicle.
There were also dozens of children in a row, some with balloons, waiting to receive gifts.
In the background, band music could be heard, as well as a woman’s voice saying “get them lined up over there”. Alluding to the delivery of the toys.
