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Today the strategy of Joint Operation Chihuahua is changing in Ciudad Juarez, where groups of soldiers who patrol the streets will stop doing so in order to devote themselves to military intelligence and policing activities.

The Chihuahua state Secretary of Public Security, Víctor Valencia de los Santos, announced that the decision was made after a meeting with federal Public Security Secretary Genaro García Luna.

He added that violent incidents with a large number of victims that have been occurring since this past June forced him to travel to Mexico City to meet with the federal secretary of Public Security.

He stated that the thousands of soldiers and municipal police have not done anything other than march through the whole city daily, and that surveillance strategy has not produced results other than "it winds up being too expensive in terms of gasoline and diesel consumption alone."

All that in addition to the costs of feeding and housing the troops that come from other parts of the country.

He said that provided that García Luna will be in Juarez next week, he will give orders to those in charge of Joint Operation Chihuahua so that beginning today that system of surveillance in the streets is ended.

He reiterated that, in the future, investigation and intelligence operations will be undertaken, mainly under the control of the Military Police, which is already in Ciudad Juarez.

Since the inauguration of Joint Operation Chihuahua in April 2008, about 1,026 soldiers, 180 tactical vehicles, and three military aircraft have participated in permanent patrols.

Moreover, 425 Federal Police, 63 agents from the Federal Attorney General's Public Prosecutor's Office, and eight from the Assistant Secretary General's Office for Specialized Investigation of Organized Crime (SIEDO) [operated in Juarez].

After the publication of Valencia de Los Santos' statements in Chihuahua press, that official elaborated, "The changes that could be made in Joint Operation Chihuahua will be made according to what is needed, but without previous notice due to the operation's strategy."

he said that it will be National Defense Ministry authorities, who are in charge of the operation, who will determine the changes and actions that will occur.

He noted that although he met with federal Public Security Secretary Genaro García Luna, he is unable to divulge the details of the meeting.

The state official reiterated that it will be military authorities who will determine if there will be changes to Joint Operation Chihuahua.