In the lands of Teocaltiche, a suspected drug workshop was dismantled, where implements and precursors for the manufacturing of explosives on land, such as landmines, and seven air-to-ground devices intended to be launched from drones were found. Officers from the National Guard, state police from the Jalisco Secretary of Security, and members of the Mexican Army arrived at the site, located on a dirt road going from Rancho La Calera to Zacatecas, on the borders of Jalisco.
At the site, two LP gas tanks were discovered a short distance from what appeared to be a camp. In addition to the intervention of police specialized in explosives, who neutralized the mobile workshop and found three rolls of wire for detonating explosive charges. Tubes and granulated gunpowder were also seized. All secured items were handed over to a Public Ministry agent, and the site was destroyed for safety reasons.
The officers belong to a special operation in the northern Altos region of Jalisco, specifically in Villa Hidalgo and Teocaltiche, where eight police officers disappeared last month while going for trust controls. The next day, the dismembered bodies of four of them were found. The municipal police forces are under state intervention due to their links with the Sinaloa Cartel.
In that area, the presence of Mario González, alias 'El Flama', identified as the plaza chief of the Sinaloa Cartel has been noted. Recently, thanks to the patrolling by federal and state forces, a 19-year-old young man who had been kidnapped and was in a warehouse towards Zacatecas was rescued.
In Teocaltiche, a municipal police officer was arrested for carrying a firearm not matching his permit, as well as cartridges of different calibers. Meanwhile, the mayor of Villa Hidalgo and his son were kidnapped but later released, followed by the kidnapping and release of his wife, president of the municipal DIF.
In response to a protest in Mexico City over alleged police abuse, Governor Pablo Lemus denied the accusations and stated that the dissenters are responding to the interests of criminal groups that affect Teocaltiche, Villa Hidalgo, and other municipalities in the region. He also pointed out that the mayor of Teocaltiche is being investigated for possible links to crime.
The governor announced that the municipal police of Teocaltiche will begin patrolling the streets this week without weapons, carrying out community engagement tasks, such as mobility and surveillance operations. The intervention of the police departments does not yet have a completion date.
