Scandal in Mexico: Cops taught school students how to use weapons

Images of students from an elementary school in Mexico wielding firearms such as pistols and rifles in a training conducted by the police They generated indignation in society, in the educational community and the rejection of the president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

The event, whose images were disseminated by the parents of the minors themselves, took place last week in the municipality of Purísima del Rincón, in the central state of Guanajuato, one of the most violent regions in the country. Local authorities have offered school children a practice of guidance on crime prevention and substance use.

“I disagree with that. They do it in other countries, we shouldn’t copy it, “López Obrador said this Friday during his usual morning conference.

One of the photos shows a girl in a school uniform brandishing a gun while a police officer protected by a bulletproof vest gives you directions on the weapon.

In another image, a girl walks in a courtyard, with many companions around, while aiming a gun in the offensive position. In a third photo, a teenager carries an assault rifle as police personnel watch.

The government of Purísima del Rincón confirmed the practice, which was also attended by representatives of the Civil Protection and firefighters.

“This demonstration included the fact that some elements of the Crime Prevention and Public Safety Coordination made it easier for students to mistakenly have this equipment in their hands and without the authorization of their superiors or the laws themselves,” he said. Benjamín Vargas, Municipal Director of Security.

The governor of Guanajuato, Diego Sinhue, considered the fact “an unfortunate eventand said he will be investigated. Meanwhile, the NGO for the defense of minors Tejiendo Redes Infancia severely condemned him.

“It is an aberrant fact, in a country with high levels of violence and precisely in a condition of risk for children and adolescents”, said Juan Martín Pérez García, coordinator of that organization.

Arms and violence in Guanajuato

Last June, five high school students and an adult woman they were shot dead in the city of Salamanca, also in Guanajuato, a prosperous industrial state that has become one of the most violent in Mexico due to the dispute between the Santa Rosa de Lima and Jalisco Nueva Generación cartels.

Possession of weapons in Mexico it is legally limited and it is controlled by the Ministry of National Defense, but its illicit circulation is common, especially due to the demand of criminal groups.

This problem is compounded by proximity to the United States, where lax laws on possession and trade in arms facilitate your traffic to Mexico – according to the government of López Obrador – even if they have also generated a wave of violence in that country, where shootings in schools and public spaces are frequent.

With information from AFP

DB