Mica for cartelinsider.com
Two battalions of the Mexican Army were sent to Culiacán, Sinaloa, to assist in the search and rescue operations of people reported missing during the mass kidnapping that was reported early Friday morning.
Just a few hours after declaring that there was no need for reinforcements and that Sinaloa had enough resources to confront crime, Governor Rubén Rocha Moya had to backtrack and announce on his social media that federal support was already arriving in the state.
The leader added that a special regional task force of 300 members and a battalion from the National Guard will also join the search efforts.
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In its latest report, the General Prosecutor’s Office of Justice (FGJ) of Sinaloa reported that it was not possible to specify the number of individuals deprived of their freedom, as complaints continued to be received while relatives of the allegedly kidnapped individuals were being monitored.
And the only “official” report on the number of victims was offered by Gerardo Medina Sánchez, head of the Secretariat of Public Security, who during the early hours of the morning indicated that unofficially they had a report of three families kidnapped, with a total of 15 kidnapped individuals.
Prior to Governor Rocha Moya’s announcement, local media reported the presence of helicopters flying over urban and rural areas in Sinaloa. However, authorities did not specify which institution they belonged to, and it was not reported if they had any leads on the possible whereabouts of the kidnapped individuals.
So far it has been revealed that the number of victims could be 40, including more than 10 minors, who would have been taken from their homes in the neighborhoods, residential areas, and communities of La Noria, Los Ángeles, Plan de Oriente, El Carrizalejo, Villa Bonita, and El Palmito.
While the three levels of government carried out a special operation in Culiacan to address the report of a mass kidnapping, state police in Sinaloa discovered a man with his throat slashed behind a kindergarten in the Morelos neighborhood, just 20 minutes from where one of the 6 emergency calls was made reporting whole families being kidnapped by armed individuals.
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Mica
Email: mica@cartelinsider.com
