On March 13, reinforcements arrived in Jalisco, 500 military personnel from the Secretariat of National Defense.  Photo: courtesy. 

After an armed attack left two policemen dead and two paramedics wounded in Jocotepec, as well as trucks set on fire in Tamazula de Gordiano, last Thursday, March 10, state authorities announced the reinforcement of security forces  in the region.  

After holding a meeting with the State Security Council, the Governor of the State, Enrique Alfaro Ramírez, stated that surveillance would be reinforced in the municipalities where violent events took place, as well as in the areas bordering Michoacán. 

«These facts cannot make us fall into fear and anxiety,» commented the state governor in a message issued through his social networks. 

Despite the series of violent events that took place on the night of March 10, Alfaro Ramírez considered that Jalisco is calm and that the security problems  are similar  to the neighboring states of Colima, Michoacán and Zacatecas. 

In addition, on March 13, the Secretary of National Defense (Sedena) in Jalisco announced the arrival of another 500 military personnel to reinforce security in support of state and municipal authorities.

Under the «Joint Task Force Mexico» strategy, the corporation will carry out various operations to support local authorities. 

«The ‘Joint Task Force Mexico’, has the characteristics of great mobility and power, but above all the ability to be deployed quickly to one or several parts of the national territory by land or air,» explained the Sedena. 

Translated by Patrick O’Heffernan