In the last weeks, Michoacán has witnessed shootings , attacks against state police officers , drug cartel members parading through the city, civilians disarming and kidnapping soldiers , while authorities were unable to stop the criminals .
On May 22, violence intensified when a clash between two drug cartels left 10 people dead in Uruapan . Two days later, five people whose bodies had been burnt were found inside a vehicle in the same municipality .
This weekend in Zamora , alleged members of the Jalisco Nueva Generación cartel attacked local police officers ; at least four agents died and seven others were injured. Before the attack, the criminals shared images showcasing their power and dozens of trucks and vehicles through social media .
In La Huasca , inhabitants attacked and disarmed a group of soldiers , after a clash between soldiers and civilians ; in order to free the soldiers, the inhabitants demanded the restitution of seized weapons, including a 50-caliber Barrett rifle , one of the most powerful ones, with the capacity to shoot a helicopter down .
This is a widely-known story in Mexico : violence increases in a region, federal forces are deployed , and insecurity is contained for a few weeks or months. Yesterday, the Security Plan for Zamora was unveiled, where 350 security “certified” elements from the municipal, state, and federal police , as well as the arm y, will be deployed.
The scene showing kidnapped soldiers e mphasizes the need to rely on efficient police corporations to face insecurity. It is a request that hasn't materialized: the army shouldn't fulfill public security tasks.
Why does organized crime inflicts such violence ? Why are the inhabitants attacking soldiers and making demands to the army ?
Inhabitants
and criminals act this way because they know attacking a police officer or a soldier won't have consequences , as well as thousands of other crimes that aren't punished in the country. The possible solution includes enforcing the law so that everyone respects the rule of law.
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