Mexico’s new National Guard deployed to Veracruz state

MEXICO CITY – Mexico’s new militarized police force known as the National Guard has been deployed for the first time to the Gulf coast state of Veracruz even before the country’s congress has passed its supporting legislation.

During an event Friday in Minatitlan, where 13 people were gunned down at a party a week ago, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and his defence secretary said the National Guard was already at work.

Earlier this month López Obrador named an active duty army general to command the new security force. Human rights groups criticized the decision and have opposed giving the military more responsibility for domestic policing.

Last year saw the highest number of murders in at least 20 years. The military is generally seen as less corrupt than the police in Mexico.