ALFREDO AZCARATE VARELA
THE BAJA POST/EDITOR
In the early hours of May 23, an operation was deployed at strategic points throughout Tecate, aimed at the comprehensive recovery of the city and its surrounding areas. Tactical-operational groups from the State Citizen Security Force (FESC), Municipal Police, the Ministry of the Navy (MARINA), the National Guard, and the Mexican Army carried out patrols in priority areas related to public security.
Using a Navy helicopter, special operations personnel monitored the Cerro Cuchumá area while rapid response teams patrolled the municipality of Tecate in a coordinated effort among the three levels of government
Tecate seems to be held within the clinched fist of Organized Crime, there have been too many violent happenings in that once peaceful and easy-going community which has now turned into a safe haven for Sinaloa Cartel members and a battleground between the Chapitos and the MAyitos, two faces of that criminal enterprise.
Tecate must be taken from the hands of those groups and pacified as to calm down and ease the terror of residents who live on the edge of death and to give back the attraction that the city used to have and that lured many people to visit the beautiful landscapes and meditation centers of the “magical town”.
Cerro Cuchumá is a natural heritage site of great importance to Tecate, a space of culture and tradition, deeply rooted in local identity, and an emblem of Baja California and Mexico. Authorities stated in a press release from the SSCBC that criminal groups will not be allowed to take control of this area.
The operation is the result of agreements established at the Peace and Security Roundtable led by Governor Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda, and forms part of the national anti-crime strategy directed by President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, as well as the reinforced security measures agreed upon with Mayor Román Cota, in response to Tecate residents who are demanding greater security.


