Mexico City (CNN) Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has ordered the Armed Forces to return to the streets for the next five years, to tackle worsening crime in the country. The decree, signed last week, comes after 2,585 murders were recorded in March, the deadliest month since Lopez Obrador took office in Dec. 2018. The arrangement will end on March 27, 2024 and, according to the document, is designed to stay in place until the National Guard can improve its capabilities. Lopez Obrador created the National Guard shortly after he took office in 2018 as a way to combat Mexico's historic levels of violence, pulling its members from various units of the armed forces. Its mandate was to reduce violence by primarily targeting organized criminal groups.

Source: CNN May 11, 2020 22:41 UTC