Translated by Jesús Ronquillo / Circuito Frontera
Faced with the insecurity crisis that has been registered in the first months of the year, since this month alone 54 people have been executed in Ciudad Juarez, authorities reported the deployment of 2,100 military elements in this border.
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The year 2023 closed with a significant increase in the number of intentional homicides in Ciudad Juarez, reaching a total of 1,214 cases, which represented an increase of 13.17 percent compared to the 1,54 recorded in 2022.
During January 2024, 124 homicides were registered, of which 13 were of women: two were classified as femicides and among them two minors died.
Also, in the last three weeks, three banners were reportedly found where members of criminal groups have left messages about seizures and clandestine cemeteries, which has put the authorities of the three levels of government to work.
It is worth remembering the banner that was placed last Tuesday on the Viaducto Díaz Ordaz, which warned of an alleged cemetery inside a house in the Altavista neighborhood where there were allegedly 30 bodies buried.
Unofficially, it was learned that two skeletons were found. This situation has raised the concern of the business sector, as stated by Rogelio Ramos Guevara, president of the National Chamber of Commerce (CANACO) in Ciudad Juarez, who indicated that businessmen are concerned about the increase in the number of intentional homicides so far this year.
He said that insecurity is out of control and they expect the situation to be regularized, once elements of the Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena) arrive in the city.
What do the authorities say?
However, the response from the authorities has been the same: the dispute between criminal groups over drug trafficking and human trafficking.
The head of the Municipal Public Security Secretariat (SSPM), Cesar Omar Muñoz Morales, reiterated that the violence currently being experienced on the border is due to disputes related to drug trafficking.
He said that as part of the joint strategy, during the final stretch of the month of February, focused actions will be implemented in specific areas to reduce homicides related to drug sales and combat the problem of drug dealing.
In this regard, the state attorney general, Cesar Jauregui Moreno, indicated that they recently held a security meeting, where they agreed to implement strategies to show positive results in the city.
Although he indicated that they will continue with operations and raids, as part of the measures to stabilize the border, emphasizing that the constant presence of the authorities in the streets.
Meanwhile, Cesar Gutierrez Lopez, Brigadier General of the Eleventh Military Regiment, informed that the Federation has fulfilled its commitment to send 2,100 troops to reinforce security in Ciudad Juarez.
The agents are already deployed in the streets of the city, as well as have carried out joint operations and provide support to the prosecutors’ offices in the fulfillment of arrest warrants and court orders.
