Mexican Mayor Calls for Federal Help After Video Allegedly Shows Cartel Training Camp

A mayor in the Mexican state of Michoacán is calling for federal assistance to combat organized crime after posting a video that allegedly shows cartel members training at a clandestine camp near the state's border with Jalisco.

Uruapan Mayor Carlos Manzo said the footage was recovered from a cellphone left behind at a site raided by state authorities. He claimed the video shows a group of armed men undergoing combat-style training.

In an interview with Infobae México, Manzo said authorities were responding to reports of a kidnapping when they discovered the site. In the video, which Manzo shared on his Facebook page this week, seven suspected cartel members can be seen following instructions from another man during what appears to be a paramilitary-style training session.

"We're starting the day. We've already done the safety checks, right? All right, let's get into some positions so the 'Boss' sees we're not just screwing around and that we're alert," the man recording the video says. He then asks the group to recall its rules.

"Always assume your weapon is loaded before picking it up," the men respond. They are later seen practicing tactical movements and combat stances. "Attack position, combat stance, kneel down, aim, return," the instructor repeats a few times during the video.

Manzo said the footage "shows that there are criminal groups operating paramilitary training camps" in the region. In his post, he also alleged the involvement of Colombian and Venezuelan nationals in camps operating in the Purépecha Plateau region of Uruapan.

"Uruapan is surrounded by criminal groups of every kind, who threaten the safety and social peace of our municipality day after day," he wrote.

Uruapan is located in central Michoacán, less than 60 miles east of the border with Jalisco. The area has long been contested by criminal organizations due to its proximity to key Pacific coast ports used to smuggle precursor chemicals and drugs from China.

Despite the video, Michoacán's public security secretary, Juan Carlos Oseguera Cortés, denied the mayor's claims and said no training camps operated by criminal groups have been identified.

"In the municipality of Uruapan, we are working in coordination with local authorities, and as of today, there is no evidence confirming the presence of any training camps in Michoacán," Oseguera Cortés said.

Manzo urged Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch to intervene and help protect his community. He also sent a direct message to criminal groups to leave Uruapan and stop harming civilians.

"Don't abandon Uruapan. Do whatever is necessary so that honest, hardworking people are no longer harmed by kidnappings, homicides, extortion and vehicle theft," Manzo wrote. "We ask the criminals to stay away from Uruapan and to stop killing innocent people in their turf wars."

The mayor also emphasized that local residents don't care which criminal group is dismantled — only that peace is restored. "We're only asking for peace and security for our people," he said. "I'm making this appeal because the crimes committed by these individuals fall under federal jurisdiction, and it is the responsibility of the federal government to address this issue directly."