The Secretary of National Defense, Luis Crescencio Sandoval, announced that 3,200 National Guard soldiers will be stationed in various locations in Quintana Roo to protect the Maya train.
The Chief Inspector of the National Guard in Quintana Roo, Uriel Chavelas Cruz, pointed out that a thousand soldiers who have joined the Security Battalion for the Maya Train are already deployed and will be placed in strategic points where the Maya train works are currently being carried out.
Chavelas explained that there are personnel being trained in Mexico City to monitor the Maya Train in the sections corresponding to Quintana Roo, and it is expected that more federal soldiers will soon join the train security project.
“As for the personnel to protect the Maya train, they are currently being trained in Mexico City and one of the units is already here in Quintana Roo. There is already a rail security battalion with about a thousand soldiers deployed along the route where significant progress is already being made,” said the Chief of the National Guard at the press conference of the Security Cabinet in C5.
He added that these thousand National Guard soldiers who have arrived to support the Maya train are currently gathered at the Isla Mujeres military base. The military unit is part of the Railway Security Battalion, which already has a strategic deployment on the train route.
According to Sedena, there are a total of 2,454 National Guard soldiers performing security duties in Quintana Roo. They are distributed among the military installations of Chetumal, Cancún, Isla Mujeres and Cozumel.
The official in charge of the country’s security explained that the National Guard personnel will cover the security of the entire Maya train. Three new Mexican Air Force bases will also be established, with five aircraft that will be used exclusively for the project, as well as drones to monitor the roads.
“These aircraft will be placed along the entire train route. They will also have drones operated by the Mexican Air Force,” said Luis Crescencio Sandoval during his recent visit to Quintana Roo.
These 3,200 additional soldiers for the security of the Maya train will be deployed in several stages, in hotels, in museums along the train route and will also travel inside the train to create security conditions during the trips in Quintana Roo and the southeastern entities.
They will also participate in the security work at the international airport “Felipe Carrillo Puerto” in Tulum, which will be completed this December, and support the security forces at the international airport of Chetumal, said the head of Sedena.