MEXICO CITY (AP) 鈥 Local police in the cartel-dominated city of Culiacan, Mexico have been pulled off the streets after the army seized their guns, officials announced Monday.
The move came just one day after about 1,500 residents of Culiacan, the capital of the northern state of Sinaloa, held a march Sunday though the city's downtown to demand peace after weeks in which
But rather than announcing a stepped-up police presence, Ruben Rocha, the state鈥檚 governor, said Monday the entire 1,000-member municipal police force would not return to duty until they get their weapons back. Soldiers, state police and 香港六合彩挂牌资料 Guard will take over patrolling until then.
Rocha said the seizure of the weapons for inspection of their permits and serial numbers was not a routine check, but rather was 鈥渆xceptional,鈥 and said 鈥渨e hope it will end soon.鈥
Historically, the Mexican army has seized the weapons of local police forces they distrust, either because they suspect some local cops are working for drug gangs or because they suspect they are carrying unregistered, private sidearms that would make abuses harder to trace.
In 2018, to conduct a similar inspection. It said at the time the measure was aimed at ensuring 鈥渢rustworthy security forces.鈥
Hundreds of army troops have been flown into Culiacan since after drug lords Ismael 鈥淓l Mayo鈥 Zambada and Joaqu铆n Guzm谩n L贸pez were apprehended in the United States after they flew there in a small plane on July 25.
by Guzm谩n L贸pez, causing a violent battle between Zambada's faction and the 鈥淐hapitos鈥 group lead by the sons of imprisoned drug lord Joaquin 鈥淓l Chapo鈥 Guzm谩n.
Sunday's protest was the first such march residents have dared to hold since factional fighting broke out following the events of July 25. Gunbattles have broken out even in downtown areas and upscale neighborhoods of Culiacan, and parents have been loathe to send their children to school since early September.
Schools in Culiacan have largely turned to holding classes online to avoid the near-daily shootings. On Monday, gunmen shot to death the leader of the local cattle rancher's union, Faustino Hern谩ndez, in broad daylight on a downtown street.
The civic group 鈥淐uliacan Valiente,鈥 or Brave Culiacan, organized residents to dress in white Sunday as they carried banners reading 鈥淭ake back our streets!鈥
鈥淲e want a return to in-class learning, but only if the safety of the schoolchildren is guaranteed,鈥 the march organizers wrote in statement.
Rocha acknowledged the battle is between two cartel factions 鈥 he called them the 鈥淐hapitos鈥 and the 鈥淢ayitos" 鈥 and pledged to fight both equally.
鈥淭here are two groups that are confronting each other here,鈥 Rocha said of his state. 鈥淭he authorities are here to face them down equally, both of them without exceptions.鈥
The two groups have taken to leaving strange factional markers on the dead bodies of their rivals: The 鈥淐hapitos鈥 leave pizzas (derived from their group's collective moniker in Spanish, 鈥淟a ChaPIZA鈥), while Zambada's supporters leave their trademark cowboy hats on dead bodies. The cowboy hats reflect the belief that Zambada's faction is more old-school than the young Guzm谩ns.
But the situation has gotten so out of control that cartel gunmen have taken to hijacking buses and trucks and burning them to block highways leading in and out of Culiacan.
Rocha acknowledged that he himself got caught for hours in traffic Friday after one such cartel blockade, after he went to the nearby resort city of Mazatlan to meet with outgoing President Andr茅s Manuel L贸pez Obrador. Rochas said he had to drive past the burning remains of one vehicle that had been torched.
On Monday, the governor promised to set up five 鈥渁nti-blockade鈥 squads with state police and soldiers on highways near Culiacan. But in acknowledgement that the squads wouldn't be able to stop the hijackings, he said they would at least be equipped with tanker trucks to puts out the flames and tow away the wreckage.
Even the local army commander, Gen. Francisco Leana Ojeda, acknowledged recently that 鈥淲e want this to be over as soon as possible, but it doesn鈥檛 depend on us, it鈥檚 up to the warring groups to stop confronting each other.鈥
