Residents of the town of Puerto Las Ollas in the municipality of Coyuca de Catalán, in the Tierra Caliente region of Guerrero, denounced the abandonment of security forces, who arrived this Tuesday after three days of pleading for help in the face of a siege by armed civilians, suspected members of criminal groups.
“To whomever it may concern, we beg and request the help of human rights defenders because the government you sent is small (…) we have been asking for your support for three days, and you only arrived yesterday and already you want to leave,” complained an elderly woman in a video shared on social media and in the media, in which she appears surrounded by other women and children.
In the video, the citizen states that only two Army patrols and two National Guard patrols arrived, two of which had already left. Therefore, they are asking for “a government unit” to be deployed in the area, otherwise the criminal groups will “wipe out all the people.”
They also warned that criminals burned homes in their town and have allegedly already taken over the villages of Balcón del Ejido and Soledad de la Palma, which belong to the municipality of Zihuatanejo but border Puerto Las Ollas.
Álvaro García, commissioner of the Los Fresnos ejido, to which Puerto Las Ollas belongs, confirmed in an interview with Milenio that the presence of authorities in the area is minimal, and therefore demanded the installation of a government base.
He also noted that the cartel threats began approximately a month ago, but the violence only intensified this weekend.
Although residents of Puerto Las Ollas and Zihuaquio, in Coyuca de Catalán, and communities in the municipality of Zirándaro, have reported clashes between members of La Familia Michoacana and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) for several days, the violence in the area is not new.
This territorial dispute between criminal groups has led to the forced displacement of residents, food shortages, school closures, and power outages. Two minors have also been reported missing, calling for the intervention of President Claudia Sheinbaum and Governor Evelyn Salgado.
Authorities assure security in Tierra Caliente, Guerrero, despite complaints from residents.
Despite complaints from residents of several communities in the Tierra Caliente region of Guerrero about the lack of security in the face of the siege by criminal groups, federal and state authorities assert that criminals are present.
Francisco Rodrígue Cisernos, Guerrero’s Undersecretary of Political and Social Development, stated that since the first reports of attacks in Coyuca de Catalán, a base of operations had been established and that, as of Monday the 9th, no attacks or injuries had been reported.
Meanwhile, the state Public Security Secretariat announced this Tuesday that “vigilance, social outreach, and citizen outreach efforts are ongoing in communities in the mountainous areas of the Costa Grande and Tierra Caliente regions,” particularly in the town of Puerto Las Ollas.
For his part, the Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection, Omar García Harfuch, also confirmed that there is a presence in the Coyuca mountains and that security has been reinforced for a week. Defense Secretary Ricardo Trevilla explained that there are 9,912 military personnel, 3,277 Army personnel, and 6,635 National Guard personnel in the state.
Source: es-us.noticias.yahoo
