Mexico’s most dangerous city for police refuses to give up or negotiate with cartels

By MARK STEVENSON
Associated Press

CELAYA, Mexico (AP) — Welcome to what might be the most dangerous place to be a police officer in North America. At least 34 officers have been killed in the line of duty in the Mexican city of Celaya in the last three years. In Guanajuato state, more police were shot to death in 2023 than across the United States. As Mexico’s June 2 presidential elections approach, Celaya lies at the crossroads of a number of political trends. It has refused to eliminate its local police force, and refused to rely almost completely on soldiers and the quasi-military National Guard.