Estado de México Deploys 300 Security Personnel to Halt Illegal Logging in Ocoyoacac

The State of México has mobilized 300 police and army members to combat clandestine timber extraction in the southern municipality of Ocoyoacac. The deployment follows reports of a self‑defense forest group and recent blockades on the Mexico‑Toluca highway, where residents set fire to trucks carrying illegally felled timber. Secretary of Security Cristóbal Camarillo (or Cristóbal Castañeda, as cited in the follow‑up report) explained that mobile barracks on trailers are being used to relocate forces quickly to affected forest zones. The operation aims to protect roughly 300 hectares of forest that have already been devastated and to restore surveillance after community complaints of illegal road openings and nighttime logging activities.

The state’s security force totals about 16,000 agents, but only a fraction can be stationed permanently in each hotspot, prompting the use of these mobile units. Officials say the presence of both police and army units, together with ongoing dialogue with local residents, is intended to deter further illegal logging and prevent future confrontations.