The Guatemalan government sent thousands of military personnel to the Mexican border on Tuesday (26/9/2023). This decision is in response to the increasing cases of violence due to the activities of drug cartel members operating around the Mexico-Guatemala border.
Apart from cases of violence, Guatemala is currently experiencing a political crisis following the end of the presidential election at the end of August. Residents also took to the streets to demand that the Attorney General not interfere in the election results and approve elected president Bernardo Arevalo.
1. Deploy 2 thousand troops to the Guatemala-Mexico border
Guatemalan military spokesman Colonel Ruben Tellez announced the sending of 400 additional troops to the Mexican border. He emphasized that this decision was to guarantee the security of citizens and government activities within Guatemalan territory.
Telesur reported , Tellez said that currently there are 2 thousand troops deployed to the Guatemala-Mexico border. Thousands of troops are stationed at 14 border gates and will carry out land and air patrols around the border.
The operation from military personnel is planned to be coordinated with the National Civil Police (PNC), which has been overwhelmed in handling the surge in cases of violence at the border due to the actions of drug cartels in recent weeks.
This is because the security crisis and cases of violence continue to occur on the Mexico-Guatemala border due to the war between Mexican drug cartels to fight over drug smuggling territory.
2. Mexico sends 1,500 military personnel to the Guatemalan border
The day before, the Mexican government had sent 1,500 Guardia Nacional personnel, soldiers and police to the Guatemalan border. This decision is related to the increasingly intense cases of violence occurring in the state of Chiapas.
“Security personnel have been deployed to Frontera Comalapa in the state of Chiapas to ensure security and peace in the area,” said the Mexican government, quoted by Reuters .
On the other hand, the President of Mexico, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) said that cases of violence from drug cartel activity only occurred in a few places and were not a general problem in his country.
“Indeed, there are drug smuggling gangs around Frontera Comalapa and near Motozintla who may be fighting for control of territory to smuggle drugs from Central America. Fortunately, there are not many murder cases in Chiapas,” he explained.
3. Video circulating of the Sinaloa Cartel convoy in Frontera Comalapa
The deployment of Mexican and Guatemalan troops was carried out after the circulation of a video of a drug cartel convoy in Chiapas on Saturday (23/9/2023). The group of dozens of cars with full weapons is suspected to be a Sinaloa Cartel convoy that arrived at the Mexico-Guatemala border.
In the video clip, there are hundreds of spectators lining the street to welcome members of the Sinaloa Cartel. Meanwhile, the location in the video is reported to be on the border between La Trinitaria and Frontera Comalapa.
Local residents are known to cheer and express their support for the Sinaloa Cartel who arrived in their area. Members of the drug cartel led by Ismael Zambada alias El Mayo also assured residents that they had come to help local residents.
Reported by Mexico News Daily , Frontera Comalapa is one of the territories controlled by the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG), along with Siltepec and Motozintla. However, Sinaloa Cartel troops have surrounded the border area of the two regions.
Source : IDNTIMES
