“Today we tell the organized criminals who commit these crimes that Tijuana will continue to be an open city that will take care of its residents,” Montserrat Caballero said in a video over the weekend calling on the gangs to end the violence, adding:
— We also ask them to settle their debts with those who have not paid what they owe, not with families and hard-working citizens.
“Extremely Serious”
The statement has attracted attention. The critics believe that Caballero justifies the cartels’ violence against people who have been forced into debt.
“It is extremely serious that a popularly elected politician, with the military on his side, in this way legitimizes the actions of the criminals in order to collect “derecho de piso”, says Senator Emilio Álvarez Icaza, according to the newspaper Reform.
The phrase “derecho de piso” refers to the fees that vendors and others are forced to pay to the gangs to be allowed to work.
Car fires
The unrest in the state of Baja California, near the border with the United States, has continued over the weekend. A number of vehicles were set on fire on Friday and Saturday. The arsons follow a week of shootings and violence in other Mexican states.
According to the authorities, it is a matter of deals between rival drug networks, particularly the Jalisco cartel.
About 350 soldiers were sent on Saturday to Tijuana, where many are staying at home for fear of the violence and businesses and universities remained closed. In total, 3,000 soldiers and 2,000 police have been called out to try to restore order.