Gunshots, broad daylight, the 'magical' town of Orizaba and a burning truck.
In short, two hours of terror in schools and among pedestrians and motorists that President Andrés Manuel López Obrador minimized on Tuesday morning by summing it up as an act of "network propaganda."
"Fortunately, it was not so serious, it was more a matter of propaganda (by criminals) on networks, because it was a live broadcast and our adversaries are pleased," he said in his morning conference.
According to official police information, what happened on Monday afternoon is that a group of agents went to a house in the center of Orizaba, with about 120,000 inhabitants, after a phone call and were greeted with bullets.
From there, a chase began that alerted the inhabitants of the city.
The videos released show several groups of people fleeing the area where the shooting occurred to take cover, while in the background the detonations that resulted from the confrontation between the police against the attackers can be heard.
At the scene of the attacks, a security perimeter was erected that covered the center of the city while soldiers and police helped residents caught in the crossfire to escape.
Through a statement,
Due to the shootings, various commercial establishments closed and schools applied security protocols, among them at the National Technological Institute of Mexico (TecNM) Campus Orizaba.
After the detonations of the firearm, a helicopter flew over the area where the confrontation took place.
In some areas, electricity was even interrupted and a trailer ended up burning on the Ciudad Mendoza-Córdoba highway as a "distraction" for criminals.
The operation mobilized the police, the Army and the Navy and forced them to declare the red code so that the population did not leave their homes.
During the conference this Tuesday, López Obrador described what happened in this way: “two, three people were in a house, they started… The police arrived, they fired, someone threatened with a bomb, with a grenade, and the man with the grenade turned himself in .
There was one death, then they burned a trailer, or tried to burn it, because fortunately not everything was burned, as part of the protest, and one of those who participated in these protests was arrested, ”he said.
The president insisted that “when some gang leaders are sometimes arrested, to try to prevent the action of the corporations, because they make propaganda, in this case they even broadcast live, and the thing about the trucks that set them on fire has that same purpose.
However, the law has to be applied, that is, it can be noisy, scandalous, sensationalist, tabloid, but action is taken.
Fortunately, it was not that serious.
Of course, we hope that this does not happen, it was more a matter of propaganda and networks, because it was a live broadcast.
And our adversaries, well, you know, right? They indulge, they indulge, ”he added.
Subsequently, the Secretary of Public Security of Veracruz, Hugo Gutiérrez Maldonado, explained that one of the detainees is Faustino "N" alias "El Tino", identified as an alleged member of a criminal gang and generator of violence in Orizaba.
In addition, he works for "El Momo", the leader of a criminal cell that operates in the central region of the state, a priority objective of the security forces.
At the time of the arrest, "El Tino" was carrying a long firearm and a fragmentation grenade.
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