Municipal police and traffic agents in Bahía de Banderas launched a labor strike on Wednesday, August 12, demanding the dismissal of their security director and answers regarding the detention of colleagues by the Nayarit State Attorney General’s Office.
A growing crisis has paralyzed municipal security operations in Bahía de Banderas, Nayarit, where officers have abandoned their posts in protest. The labor stoppage began Wednesday following a wave of detentions that left members of the Directorate of Public Security and Traffic behind bars, triggering a direct confrontation between the rank-and-file force and municipal leadership.
The Detentions and the Municipal Response
The unrest stems from two separate enforcement actions by state authorities. According to state-level reporting on the incident, approximately nine law enforcement personnel were taken into custody during an operation conducted by the Nayarit State Attorney General’s Office. Preliminary reports indicate the group includes six municipal police officers and three traffic agents.
Officers were reportedly summoned on Tuesday to the Attorney General’s Macromódulo facility located along Highway 200 in Jarretaderas. Witnesses stated that the personnel remained inside the facility before being transferred to Tepic without prior notification to their families.
A second, related incident involved a municipal officer stationed in the El Porvenir colony. During an operational response, the officer discharged a weapon to subdue an individual who was armed with a machete and threatening two bystanders alongside the officers themselves. The suspect died from the gunshot wounds, and the officer was subsequently detained.
Allegations of Betrayal and Demands for Dismissal
Inside the public plaza of Valle de Banderas, striking officers voiced deep distrust toward their leadership, as detailed in local reporting from Bahía de Banderas. The protesters specifically demanded the removal of Director of Public Security and Traffic Luis Alonso Frisby Becerra, accusing him of cooperating with state prosecutors to the detriment of the patrol force.
According to the striking personnel, during their appearance at the Jarretaderas facility, they learned that the director had allegedly handed over personal files containing their home addresses, cell phone numbers, and equipment logs directly to the state prosecutor’s office. This disclosure led to widespread anger and chants among the assembled officers.
The officers assert that the state investigation has morphed into a targeted persecution against the department, leaving them vulnerable and unsupported by their administrative chain of command.
Official Stance from Interim Leadership
Interim Mayor José Israel Santillán Castañeda met with the protesting personnel to address the crisis, acknowledging the detentions while clarifying that the administration remains outside the judicial procedures excelsior.com.mx. The municipal executive addressed the accusations regarding the detained officers.
Israel Santillán, Municipal President of Bahía de Banderas, stated that as municipal president he would not allow any of the personnel to have ties to criminal groups, though he would at all times remain very respectful of the control judge’s rulings and await the legal timelines.
Mayor Santillán added that the administration is providing legal representation to the detained personnel through a specialized attorney suggested by the families. Concurrently, Chief of Staff Xavier Esparza addressed the operational impact vallartaindependiente.com, acknowledging the friction while pressing the rank-and-file to maintain baseline public safety.
Xavier Esparza, Chief of Cabinet, noted that they currently understand the officers’ frustration and acknowledged that they are within their rights, but emphasized that the welfare of the citizenry must come first because the corporation is dedicated to surveillance and prevention in every community of the municipality, conveying the message that the officers should support them by going out to patrol, assuring them that as soon as information is available the legal situation of each officer will be made known, while reiterating that this administration will support the police corporation at all times.
Security Gap and Ongoing Uncertainty
With the local police force maintaining its work stoppage, municipal surveillance has shifted to external forces. Federal and state units, including the Mexican Army, the National Guard, and the State Police, have stepped in to cover patrols across Bahía de Banderas.
Authorities scheduled a high-level security table meeting involving state prosecutors and executive staff to review the legal status of the detained officers in Tepic. Until those findings are formally released, the municipal force remains deadlocked over its leadership and the operational fallout of the state-level investigations.
