. DISARMAMENT & SECURITY.
An article from NVI Noticias (translation by CPNN)
With the aim of raising awareness among Chiapas families and as a preventive measure, Governor Manuel Velasco Coello has presided over the Exchange of Arms 2018 campaign, highlighting how the active participation of citizens contributes to Chiapas having one of the lowest criminal indices in the country.
Accompanied by the Commander of the VII Military Region, Carlos Ramón Carrillo del Villar and the Attorney General of the State, Raciel López Salazar, the State Executive said that since the beginning of his government, a security system has been established by which various institutions safeguard the tranquility and harmony, thereby promoting a culture of peace in all the regions of Chiapas,.
He noted that year after year the Government of the State together with the Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena), have conducted this campaign in which Chiapas families deliver some weapon they have in their home in exchange for household appliances or food pantries, process in which, said the president, women have played an important role with a 70 percent presence.
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“Put down the gun and take up the pen”, What are some other examples?
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“The initiative has been coordinated among the three orders of government. Household appliances are exchanged for all possible weapons in the municipalities with the highest crime rate.
Fortunately, the response of the citizens has been great, especially the participation of women who do not hesitate to bring arms which are then destroyed by the Mexican Army,” he said.
On this occasion, the arms exchange has taken place in Tuxtla Gutiérrez and Tapachula, where since the beginning of the campaign, 54 weapons have been exchanged, including14 loaders, 472 cartridges and three grenades.
It is worth mentioning that from 2013 to 2017, more than 95 thousand weapons and artifacts have been collected, with the participation of 24 municipalities.
Participating agencies include the Sedena, the General State Prosecutor’s Office, the General Secretariat of the Government, the Secretariat of Civil Protection, the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection, the Executive Secretariat of the State Public Security System and the Town Councils.
The General Secretary of the Government, Mario Carlos Culebro Velasco, assisted in this event, along with Octavio Lozoya Uribe, Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection; Neftalí del Toro Guzmán, Mayor of Tapachula and Moisés Grajales Monterrosa, Secretary of Security and Transit of the municipality of Tuxtla Gutiérrez, among others.