One of Mexico's most important seaports is now under the control
of the military in a show of force as the government fights corruption and drug
cartel violence.
The port of Lazaro Cardenas lies
on the country's Pacific coast, in the troubled state of Michoacan. While
violence has tapered off in some parts of Mexico, Michoacan continues to be a
hot spot of violence between cartels and, more recently, vigilante groups.
The Mexican navy, army, federal
police and attorney general's office swept into both the port and city of
Lazaro Cardenas on Monday, relieving local law enforcement of its duties, a
government spokesman said.
The objective of the operation is
to "strengthen the rule of law, as well as the legality of the daily
commercial activities of the port," government spokesman Eduardo Sanchez
said.
The use of the military is
notable because it is strikingly similar to the approach favored by the
previous administration. President Enrique Pena Nieto has been critical of his
predecessor's military approach to combat crime, but his own drug strategy
keeps many aspects the same.
The Knights Templar cartel has
long terrorized residents of Michoacan as it expanded its activities from
methamphetamine production to extortion. The cartel has been known to go on the
offensive against police. In one series of attacks this summer, 22 people were killed.
Given the violence in Michoacan,
Pena Nieto has had little choice but to follow the strategy of former President
Felipe Calderon, said George W. Grayson, a professor of government at the
College of William & Mary and expert on drug cartels.
A number of factors have made
Lazaro Cardenas an attractive port for smuggling.
For one, many of the young men
who worked for the port and found themselves unemployed during the recession
became prime recruits for the cartels, Grayson said. A selling point for
legitimate commerce -- that the port is in a central location -- also attracted
smugglers, he added.
Corruption has grown to the point
that Michoacan became a "sewer of corruption and violence," Grayson
said.
According to Sanchez, the navy
will be in charge of the port, and the army will provide protection on the
city's streets, with the aid of federal police.
The problem's facing the port and
city are not limited to criminal groups.
As the military moved in, the
city's entire police was disarmed and detained, Sanchez said. The officers will
all be evaluated.
All of the public servants who
oversee the port will be gradually replaced, he said, in order to "prevent
collusion by and between officials."
Lazaro Cardenas is one of
Mexico's key ports, handling the second-most volume of any port.
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