Mexico Deploys 130K Military Personnel to Prevent Cartels’ Retaliatory Attacks
MEXICO – Mexico deployed 130,000 military personnel across the country on Tuesday, in what the Mexican Security Secretary Omar Garcia Harfuch said was to prevent cartels’ retaliatory attacks following the arrest of their leader Audias Flores Silva, aka “El Jardinero,” together with his strategist Cesar Alejandro N, alias “El Guero Conta.”
During the press conference, Harfuch said the arrests directly weaken the operational, logistical and financial capabilities of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, an organization that has expanded its influence and power beyond the country. He added that an “immediate deployment of forces was ordered to contain possible reactions and guarantee public safety” involving 130,000 troops.
“El Jardinero” had been considered one of the possible successors to Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes, more commonly known as “El Mencho,” the leader of the CJNG, who was killed by Mexican forces in February.
Joining Harfuch at the press conference were Secretary of the Navy Admiral Raymundo Pedro Morales Angeles, Secretary of National Defense Ricardo Trevilla Trejo and Guillermo Briseno Lobera, the commander of the National Guard.
According to Harfuch, Flores Silva has an active provisional arrest warrant for extradition on charges of criminal conspiracy related to drug trafficking and illegal possession of firearms issued by the District of Columbia in the US.
“In addition, here in Mexico, he has a re-arrest warrant for homicide, along with other ongoing investigations led by the Attorney General’s Office,” he said.
In Jalisco, the CJNG stronghold where “El Guero Conta” was detained, security has been reinforced with federal, state and local forces totaling nearly 4,000 troops at identified high-risk areas, border zones, highways and prisons.
Additionally, the Navy has deployed more than 25,000 officers across the country to prevent violence from organized crime, according to Morales Angeles.
The forces are complemented by 107,000 National Guard troops deployed throughout Mexican territory.
