SUMMARY OF TOWN HALL SAFETY MEETING AT AJIJIC PLAZA

This was sent to me by one of our newest Homeowner's at Los Arroyos Sur.
Take note of the Cell phone numbers for your area. Post it in a prominent place.

Summary of our Town Hall Safety Meeting at the Ajijic Plaza.
According to the 'head counters' there were approximately 1000 in attendance, with about 75% being Mexican. The meeting was opened by Linda Fossi, member of CSI, with translation provided by Vivianne Michel, also of CSI. Captain Contreras, Chief of Police for the Chapala Municipality, was present and handled the bulk of the meeting explaining he was there to validate information, dispel rumors, and answer questions from the crowd.

Captain Contreras confirmed the information about 18 bodies being found near Ixtlahuacan, none of which were connected to drug trafficking. Further, he confirmed another 5 bodies/heads/body parts, many frozen, were found at a home in Riberas del Pilar. The only possible nexus to drugs was that the aunt or uncle of one of the bodies found had rented out the home in Riberas where these latest bodies were found.

He also confirmed that a foreigner had been abducted while walking his dogs; one dog was killed and the man and another woman being held, were Released after being held overnight. This man and his family have since gone into hiding and will be leaving the area.

The third incident he addressed consisted of a foreign couple abducted from Chapala Haciendas along with three Mexicans; when brought to a hostage-holding house, the person in charge released the couple stating "we don't want anything to do with foreigners."

He confirmed that two safe houses were raided in San Nicolas (on the way to Vista del Lago) where they have custody 3 people and secured a cache of large arms, hand guns, explosives, fake police garb and various other items used by police forces. These people are being held and questioned regarding the latestincidents.

There was also a raid in a gated community of Rancho del Oro, (several days ago now, and the Captain confirmed that, while there were no suspects present, another cache of weapons, bullet-proof vests and grenades, etc., were seized there.

The Captain also said on the Monday meeting (attended by CSI and some others), that there were NO signs, or flyers or banners that stated the Narcos will going to kidnap and kill Mexican citizens. Those were rumors.

Numerous questions were asked by the audience, many by the Mexicans present. However, their questions were more police bashing than actual questions and from time to time the crowd yelled "we want answers!" And "bring in the military!, you're over your head!", etc. To the Captain's credit, he maintained his composure and reaffirmed the reason for being
at the meeting: to provide answers and to seek the everyone's support in finding and convicting the criminals.

I'm summarizing below what the Captain requested of the crowd:
Call the Anonymous Tip Hotline (01-800-839-1416), (since the meeting, SIX TIPS HAVE BEEN CALLED IN, so the message worked). The police department in Chapala (765-4444 of 066), or the cell numbers written on magnets distributed at the end of the meeting. These cell phones have been issued to the police department by CSI CHAPALA as part of their Mission Statement and Vision to offer programs for the safety our community. Each of these cell phones will be issued to the officer-on-duty, on each shift, for each of 10 districts that make up the Ribera in "Chapala Municipality": 3 cell phones covering Ajijic. Ajijic (from La Floresta to Las Salvia, upper and lower): 331-149-3980: West Ajijic (from Villa Nova to the start of Jocotepec Municipality): 333-722-5566: Riberas, (from San Antonio (this would include along the Libramiento to the bounders of the Chapala Municipality): 333-722-3720:

There are also 3 cell phones covering Chapala:
Chapala Centro (all of Main Street to the Lake to La Cristina Park): 333-722-6099:
Chapala Guadalupe District (along and up the Mt Side up to the Bus Station): 333-722-3486: Chapala San Miguel District (along and up the Mt Side from the Bus Station to the start of Chapala Haciendas/Brisas): 333-722-3461.

The other four districts are: Chapala Haciendas/Brisas de Chapala: 331-767-4210. San Nicholas/Santa Cruz: 331-789-5033. Vista del Lago, 331-438-6231. And Atotonilquillo: 331-465-0768.

These phones are "receive only" cell phones and are manned 24/7 by the police officer assigned to each district. By contacting the number for your district either when you observe something suspicious RIGHT THAT MINUTE, or find yourself in danger, CALL YOUR OFFICE-ON-DUTIES CELL PHONE.

The turnaround time will be much faster, since the officer is located within your district
and can promptly respond. Remember, speak in Spanish:

Ayudame, Ayudame. Mi nombre es ______________, mi dirección es __________
en Ajijic or Villa Nova or wherever; mi teléfono es ______________.
Por favor ayuda me ahorita mismo. (Help me, help me. My name is _________.
My address is ________en (this area). My phone number is ___________. Please help me right now.)

For SECRET TIPS, not your local emergencies, call the CSI Chapala ANONYMOUS HOTLINE NUMBER: 01-800-839-1416.

The Captain, answering other questions on the Monday gathering at the La Floresta Auditorium, and later after the formal meeting confirmed: 1) There were NO banners, flyers, or any other communications about the Narcos kidnapping others. That was a rumor. 2) The Government did NOT start any curfew. That was a rumor.

He asked us to please go about our business as usual but avoid desolate areas, e.g., the mountain trails are not safe right now. To stay home achieves what these criminals want: to have us live in fear.

Report any incident having to do with your car being stopped by a police patrol for the purposes of questioning you and searching your car. While some of these may be legitimate, there may also be some who are criminals posing as police officers (one person in the crowd described such an incident). The Captain asked that people call in to his office in Chapala and report the incident and the number on the police truck which is prominently displayed on the side. He has the schedule of which truck is supposed to be out on patrol and which officers are in that car.

This will help him establish if there are people out there posing as officers and also determine that, if it was a legitimate police Check point, that the search was conducted legally and according to approved police procedure.

Do not allow rumors to become your reality. If your neighbor, friend, housekeeper, gardener, etc. tells you they saw or heard something suspicious, urge them to call the ANONYMOUS HOTLINE with the information, it is 100% anonymous with calls going directly to Canada with bi-lingual operators who take the report. It is illegal in Canada to see the phone number that has dialed the call, so there's no way they can trace the caller. The Captain indicated that, if they don't get the information, their hands are tied. Also, for current information, you can check information on the police website www.chapala.gov.mx; this website is updated regularly and should help put to rest the rumors that seem to be flying around.

The Captain realizes the Mexican community, and perhaps many within the foreign community don't trust the police but he's committed to follow up on every single lead or report. Something to remember, the police department has no jurisdiction over the Transito, ticket writing officers. They are run by the State Government, not the local government.

When asked about seeking additional support from the military, he indicated that there have been a couple of military patrols deployed to Lakeside but it's best to keep their presence to a minimum because an all-out war could ensue between the Narcos and the military as it has in other states.

This is the information we were able to get out of the meeting. This is information gathered by many.