Federal forces deploy to Tabasco

Hundreds of soldiers and federal officers seized the police headquarters of Tabasco state after a surge of violence in the tropical region, local media reported.

Soldiers forced dozens of state police to hand over their weapons for registration, detained at least three people and suspended at least one senior official in the city of Villahermosa, the reports said.

Last week police found a severed head in front of the state police headquarters, apparently a threat by criminals. Early this month, gunmen wounded the Tabasco state security minister and killed his bodyguard.