Mexican army special forces soldiers sent to Juárez as murders surge

Daniel Borunda, El Paso Times
·2 min read

Hundreds of Mexican army special forces soldiers arrived in Juárez to bolster public safety efforts as murders have surged in recent days.

On Monday alone, there were 16 homicides in Juárez — among more than 90 murders in August ― largely believed to be due to fighting between criminal groups over drug and migrant trafficking, according to local news reports.

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Soldiers arrived in a Mexican Air Force B-737/800 transport plane that landed Tuesday, Aug. 29, at the Juárez airport, the Mexican Secretariat of National Defense, known as SEDENA, said in a statement.

Special forces units "characterized by their speed, mobility and deployment capacity" will work in coordination with law enforcement operations targeting organized crime groups, the defense ministry stated.

A Mexican army soldier guards the scene of a deadly fire at a Mexican immigration detention center in Juárez on March 27.
A Mexican army soldier guards the scene of a deadly fire at a Mexican immigration detention center in Juárez on March 27.

The newly arrived troops are believed to be part of the military forces reinforcing the "United for Juárez" military-led initiative launched last month to combat crime and violence in the border city.

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Mexico's national defense department did not disclose the number of special forces soldiers deployed to Juárez, though local news outlets estimated that up to 400 troops arrived at the airport.

The Mexican army regularly rotates soldiers assigned to violent pacification missions around the country.

US Consulate issues security alert for Janos after police chief killed

The U.S. Consulate in Juárez issued a security alert on Tuesday, Aug. 29, cautioning citizens and barring U.S. government employees from traveling to or through the small town of Janos "due to recent security incidents."

Janos is in northwestern Chihuahua about 120 miles southwest of Juárez on the highway leading to Nuevo Casas Grandes.

A Mexican soldier mans a checkpoint in the Anapra neighborhood where human smuggling is run by organized crime groups in Juárez in 2022.
A Mexican soldier mans a checkpoint in the Anapra neighborhood where human smuggling is run by organized crime groups in Juárez in 2022.

Over the weekend, a Mexican army soldier fatally shot the Janos police chief when the chief allegedly drew a handgun while attempting to avoid being arrested, the Chihuahua Attorney General's Office said.

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State police backed by soldiers had an arrest order for the chief, Higinio Solis, on charges of homicide, the forced disappearance of persons, extortion and abuse of authority, officials said.

Solis was shot when he allegedly resisted arrest and threatened soldiers with a gun in an attempt to flee, the Chihuahua Attorney General's Office said in a statement. Solis was transported to a hospital in Nuevo Casas Grandes, where he died of a gunshot wound to his right glute that severed a major artery.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Mexican army special forces sent to Juárez as murders surge