TalkBaja.com » Baja Mexico Forums » Baja News Wire

10/24/11– Last week, Interior Secretary (Secretario de Gobernación), José Francisco Blake Mora announced at a government press conference, the starting of Operation Laguna Segura, a bold investment of federal police forces and machinery to combat organized crime. The governors of the states of Coahuila and Durango, Jorge Torres López and Jorge Herrera Caldera, were also present at the panel to discuss the ramifications of the new federal security detail that would employ all levels of police and security, local, state and federal under the federal government’s control in the northern states. The entirety of the press conference can be read here.

Also present and defending Operation Laguna Segura were the secretary of the navy, national defense, public security, and the attorney general’s office.

The Laguna area has recently been under fire between the feuding Sinaloa and Zeta cartels. According to the National System of Public Security website, (Sistema Nacional de Seguridad Pública- SNSP), in 2009 there were 473 homicides in the urban area. In 2010, the number rose to 799, and in 2011, 804 killings were reported.

Alejandra Sota Mirafuentes, the spokesperson for the Calderón administration announced at the press conference, “The lesson is clear, only through police and local prosecutors strong and reliable is possible to achieve lasting security. There is no other effective way to take back our public spaces and bring criminals to justice. Therefore, the Calderón administration and federal government will use all the instruments at its disposal, in order to support state authorities in the procurement of safer environments for their communities.” In Sota’s announcement, she called for local mayors, governors, and federal officials to work together to bring justice to the affected areas.

Sota cited successful initiatives in Veracruz and Guerrero as the groundwork behind Operation Laguna Segura. According to Sota, Veracruz’s similar operation, “Segura Veracruz”, has resulted in the seizure of over 300 thousand doses of drugs, 40 guns, three thousand cartridges of different calibers, 309 magazines for different weapons and 190 vehicles that were used in various crimes in less than ten days.

The Interior Secretary and the governors of Coahuila and Durango agreed to a ten point approach to Operation Laguna Segura. These points include: purification and strengthening of police forces, continuing evaluations, increasing size and strength of the police force, participation in joint mobilizations between state, local and federal police, review of corruption in the system, and evaluation of monitoring practices of money laundering and corruption .

Early Sunday, the official military start-up to Operation Laguna Segura began with a public unifying display of federal forces. Mexican Army troops kicked off “Laguna Segura” with the impressive show of force in the landing of an air force helicopter and announcing the participation of all air forces for rapid response to fight organized crime.




More...