The mayor of the Mexican municipality of Aguililla, a place where the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), “el Mencho” was bornHe was killed this Thursday.
The news of the death of César Arturo Valencia Caballero was confirmed by the governor of the state of Michoacán, Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla.
“We strongly condemn the murder. I have given instructions that the events be thoroughly investigated, that they be clarified as soon as possible and that those responsible be punished,” he said in a message on Twitter.
Aguililla is one of the most violent municipalities in the state of Michoacán due to the fight between cartels. However, the Mexican government announced last February that it had managed to regain control after a wide deployment of soldiers.
But, despite this action that sought to end insecurity in the area, Valencia Caballero was shot dead by an individual this Thursday when he was aboard his truck in Aguililla, reported municipal authorities quoted by the newspaper El Universal.
Hours earlier, Valencia, from the Green Ecologist Party of Mexico (PVEM), held a meeting at the municipal presidency with officials from the federal government.
“He wanted to do things right for his municipality; he constantly made arrangements, he saw how to bring benefits to his people and it is very unfortunate that today we found out about this news“, Ernesto Núñez Aguilar, leader of the PVEM in Michoacán, told local media.
The Federal Security Secretariat also condemned the murder of Valencia Caballero and assured in a statement that “the work will be reinforced” for the security of Aguililla. “
“The Mexican government endorses its commitment to continue building peace in this municipality and throughout the state,” it adds in the text.
Land of confrontation between cartels
Aguililla is one of the most violent municipalities in Michoacán and has long been the center of clashes between different cartels fighting for control of it and that of the region known as Tierra Caliente.
This town is considered a bastion of the CJNG and where its leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias “el Mencho”, was born, one of the most wanted men by the authorities of Mexico and the United States.
Until less than a year ago, some areas of the municipality were in the hands of Carteles Unidos, made up mainly of the Grandfather cartel (or Tepalcatepec cartel) and Los Viagras, among others.
But in April of last year, the CJNG took control of all of Aguililla and the residents say that their municipality was transformed into a battlefield.
In addition to living between constant shootings, which caused hundreds of people to flee, the residents especially suffered from the blockade of their main highway by cartel checkpoints, which left the population practically isolated.
Last February, however, the Mexican Secretary of Defense assured that “passability and social peace were restored” in Aguililla after soldiers entered the municipality “with the aim of carrying out operations to strengthen the rule of law in the region.”
“The federal government or the Armed Forces are supposed to have control of the area, they say. I call it a presence in the area, but the day there is control are big words,” he told BBC Mundo one day after the operation. Aguililla parish priest, Gilberto Vergara.
“It is their military presence and I don’t know how long it will last and guarantee that we have free transit,” he said then.
At the same time, the Army proceeded to deactivate hundreds of landmines planted by drug traffickers and hidden not only on the outskirts of the Aguililla communities, but also inside them.
“The situation has been normalizing in a region of Michoacán,” Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said on February 25.
“A comprehensive wellness program is already being implemented in Michoacán. Enough progress has been made to give people an option, especially young people, so that they are not hooked by crime in Aguililla (…), and that they have options, opportunities, that is the most important thing to pacify the country,” added the president.
Now you can receive notifications from BBC World. Download our app and activate it so you don’t miss our best content.
BBC-NEWS-SRC: https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-america-latina-60664302, IMPORTING DATE: 2022-03-11 01:30:05
#assassinate #mayor #refuge #leader #Jalisco #Nueva #Generación #Cartel