The Secretariat of National Defense has deployed 500 military personnel to reinforce the Metropolitan Area of Guadalajara due to the rising rates of violence in the state.

The Mexican army troops arrived on March 13. They joined the ZMG through the 15/a Command Military area, to reinforce security tasks through "various operations," according to a Puerto Vallarta Daily News report.

It has not yet been specified which municipalities the 500 elements that came to reinforce the state's security will act. However, they are expected to be enforced in conflictive zones such as Teocaltiche, Encarnacion de Dias, Tamazula, and Manzanilla de la Paz, among others.

The military force is part of the so-called Joint Task Force Mexico, which has "great mobility and power," and the ability to be quickly deployed to one or several parts of the national territory by land or air.

Sedena Head Luis Cresencio Sandoval Gonzales said that there were 11,822 soldiers and elements of the National Guard in Jalisco.

Sandoval detailed that it was specifically 5,571 from the Secretary of National Defense, 411 from the Secretary of the Navy, and 5,840 from the National Guard.

Last week, the borders of Michoacan and Jalisco reported various acts of violence that alarmed residents.

Users on social media alleged that it was members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.

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Michoacan Violence

In February, Mexico announced that soldiers had rolled into a township dominated by Jalisco Cartel for the first time in months.

The troops broke up a civilian blockade of a small army base in Aguililla that had blocked its entrances since last summer.

The defense department that the government was starting a "dialogue for the pacification of Aguililla" and free the areas from the presence of organized crime, according to an Associated Press News report.

The army alleged the townspeople of Aguililla of acting as the "social base" of the Jalisco cartel as they blockaded the base and confronted the soldiers during protests.

People said their anger stems from what they see as a government policy favoring the Michoacan-based Viagras Cartel.

It was reported that the Jalisco Cartel has encouraged, some say forced, people to join the protests, according to an Aljazeera report.

Jalisco Cartel

The Jalisco Cartel grew after former Sinaloa Cartel capo Ignacio Coronel was killed by Mexican security forces in July 2010.

The group was then split into two factions, with the two groups fighting for control of drug trafficking in Jalisco, according to an InsightCrime report.

One of the factions became Jalisco Cartel, emerging as the successors to the Sinaloa capo's network in the region.

The Jalisco Cartel has been involved in a series of violent attacks, including the 2015 ambush that killed 15 Mexican police officers in Jalisco state.

In May 2018, the drug trafficking cartel also tried to assassinate Luis Carlos Najera, who was the former security secretary of Jalisco.

In June 2020, Jalisco Cartel then made a try to kill Omar Garci Harfuch, who is Mexico City's public security secretary.

READ MORE: Jalisco Cartel in Mexico Is Creating Homemade Bombs Similar to Those Use by Islamic Militants Amid Drug War

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Written by: Mary Webber

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