Michoacán, Mexico. Photo: Google

By THE PULSE NEWS MEXICO STAFF

As Mexico seeks to deploy operational military units to the Western state of Michoacán, the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel (CJNG) has blocked Mexican military personnel from entering the area in its quest to maintain control over the Michoacán region, one of the main centers of Mexican cartels’ methamphetamine-producing laboratories that the groups later traffic into the United States for distribution.

Known for its cache of military-grade weaponry, the CJNG has managed to hold off the Mexican military across numerous Michoacán municipalities, including throughout Cuatro Caminos, Artega, Tierra Caliente and the La Huacana-Múgica-Uruapan corridor.

Michoacán has long been fraught with cartel-born tensions; while the state was previously plagued with battles from small-scale illicit operations, the CJNG’s entrance to the territory led to larger, bloodier battles with the Cárteles Unidos throughout the state. 

Another source of the CJNG’s interest in the region is the municipality of Aguililla, the hometown of the group’s notorious leader Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera, which has subsequently made the violence-filled area a target for Mexico’s military deployment. Still, despite attempts to enter Aguililla, the CJNG’s arsenal of weaponry and military-esque strategies have prevented the army from making any headway, with many military personnel shying away from combat with CJNG altogether – a choice some troops say comes directly from their commanding officers. 

On Tuesday, May 10, 900 military units were sent out to join the 3,962 troops already present in the Aguililla region, though armed civilians managed to halt their plan to set up a highway checkpoint in its tracks and proceeded to chase them off in a convoy of eight trucks.

As tensions in Michoacán continue to ramp up, the Mexican Army has since sent troops from the National Guard and more military vehicles into the region, as well as 290 federal agents to help the fight against the CJNG’s presence.