Mexico City sends National Guard to subway over sabotage concerns

More than 6,000 National Guard officers will be posted in Mexico City’s subway system after authorities fear that recent mechanical problems in the trains have been caused by sabotage, the mayor of the city announced. 

“In recent months, incidents have been occurring that we categorize as not normal,” said Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, adding that she had asked President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to dispatch the quasi-military National Guard to prevent further accidents. 

The National Guard officers will be posted at subway stations and “other facilities” for “some months,” the mayor added. However, the officers will not be armed. 

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said that the National Guard would be stationed to prevent “provoked” or intentional accidents. 

“What we want is for there not to be psychosis, for people not to have to worry about some accident in the subway, and that it could have been provoked,” the president said.

“If they call that militarization or whatever, then we will take responsibility for that,” he said.

The latest accident took place on Saturday, when two subway trains crashed into each other, injuring dozens and killing one. According to local media, the accident was due to a signaling problem on the tracks. 

In May 2021, an elevated section of the subway station collapsed, killing 26 passengers and injuring more than 100. A subsequent investigation found that there were deficiencies in the construction of the subway that led to its collapse.

Critics, however, believe that the decision to deploy the National Guard is “more about politics than anything that would be useful here.” 

Mario Alberto Hernandez, head of one of the subway stations said that the system’s failures were due to the lack of spare parts. “They are cannibalizing old, discarded trains to get spare parts,” he added.