The protests came as the government officially began deploying the National Guard to try to seal the country's porous southern border and control immigration and crime. The demonstrations threatened to complicate the formation of the new force, which President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has bet Mexico's future security on.

Uniformed officers blocked a major expressway in front of federal police offices in the capital, and another contingent blocked the highway between the city and the Hidalgo state capital of Pachuca. Federal police at a Mexico City command center demanded a meeting with the security secretary.

The president has been dismissive of the federal police, characterizing them as a failed security force. He gave military officers the bulk of the responsibility for the National Guard. The new agency is also seeking new recruits.