Business leaders in Chilpancingo had been demanding a federal role in law enforcement in the city for two months, accusing municipal police of working with organized crime groups.
The Federal Police took over law enforcement duties over the weekend in Chilpancingo, the capital of the southern Mexican state of Guerrero, after the municipal police force was dismissed amid complaints from the business community about the growing presence of gangs in the city.
About 300 Federal Police officers, supported by some 500 state police, assumed law enforcement duties in Chilpancingo on Sunday.
The officers are taking part in “Operacion Juntos Por Chilpancingo” (Operation Together for Chilpancingo), federal officials told the media.
The 200 municipal police officers who provided security in the city will undergo an “evaluation, certification and training process, with their labor and human rights being respected,” Chilpancingo Mayor Mario Moreno Arcos said.
Federal Police regional commissioner Enrique Francisco Galindo took part in the ceremony at which the 800 federal and state police officers were officially handed control of law enforcement in the city.
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