This Saturday, the Mexican Ministry of National Defense, through the Fifth Military Region, decided to remove Brigadier General Isaac Bravo López from his post as commander of the Eleventh Military Zone in Guadalupe, Zacatecas, and replace him with Brigadier General Armando Toscano Yáñez, on an interim basis.
The official change of command and swearing-in ceremony took place at the facilities of the Fifty-Second Infantry Battalion, based in the city of Guadalupe, south of the metropolitan area of Zacatecas.
Just 48 hours earlier, a public scandal engulfed General Isaac Bravo López, who was accused on various social media platforms in Zacatecas of being linked to an official U.S. government investigation. He was accused of allegedly collaborating with alias “El Mayito Flaco,” a man connected to the Sinaloa Cartel’s Mayo Zambada faction, and of supposedly receiving monthly bribes from that criminal organization.
The swearing-in ceremony was presided over by Governor David Monreal Ávila and the Commander of the Fifth Military Region, Division General Porfirio Fuentes Vélez, among other civilian and military officials.
General Armando Toscano Yáñez was born on July 3, 1969, in Ciudad Obregón, Sonora. He is a graduate of the Heroic Military College. Among his most significant responsibilities, it was reported, are his service in the General Staff of the National Defense, the Presidential General Staff, the Inspectorate and Comptroller General of the Army and Air Force, as well as his role as commander of the Cozumel Military Garrison and state coordinator of the National Guard in Jalisco.
Furthermore, since Friday afternoon and continuing through Sunday, civilian and military forces have maintained a strong operational presence in the canyon region of southeastern Zacatecas, along Federal Highway 54, which connects the municipalities of Villanueva, Tabasco, Jalpa, and Juchipila, due to armed clashes between gunmen from the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and members of the Sinaloa Cartel, specifically the Mayo Zambada faction.
It was reported that authorities even had to implement several road closures, lasting up to two hours, in the vicinity of the municipality of Tabasco and the El Chique dam. This was because, as a result of the confrontation between the gunmen and the pursuit of vehicle convoys, they allegedly threw tire spikes and planted explosive devices to evade pursuit by rival factions or by the authorities.
Municipal authorities in the region also reported that residents of the community of Las Azucenas, in the municipality of Tlaltenango, reported heavy gunfire from Friday night into Saturday morning.
Explosions were also reported between the towns of Mesa de Palmira and Tierras Moradas, also in the municipality of Tlaltenango. As of Saturday afternoon, neither the State Police (SSPZ) nor the State Attorney General’s Office (FGJEZ) had reported any deaths or injuries in the region, nor any arrests.
Source: jornada
