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Criminal Violence in Mexico

Central American Gangs Threaten Southern Mexico

  • Organized crime groups associated with Central America have imposed terror-based extortion on public transportation in southern Mexico; at least three bus drivers have been shot to death (AP)

Former Mexican Lawmaker Accused of Aiding Drug Trafficking Into U.S.

  • The trial of former Mexican public security chief Genaro García Luna begins today in New York; he is accused of taking bribes from the Sinaloa Cartel (NYT)

Mexico Arrests Son of Drug Lord ‘El Chapo’

  • Gunmen from the Sinaloa Cartel staged retaliatory attacks in the northern Mexican city of Culiacán after police captured Ovidio Guzmán López, a central figure in the cartel since the arrest of his father, Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán Loera (The Guardian)

Mexico Continues To Be One of the Most Dangerous Places For Journalists

  • International nonprofit Reporters Without Borders said the Americas were the most dangerous region for journalists in 2022, pointing to the murders and disappearances of reporters in Brazil, Haiti, and Mexico; it counted fifty-seven reporters killed worldwide this year (MercoPress)

Mexican Migrants Kidnapped on Way to U.S. Border

  • According to the testimony of nine migrants, hundreds of migrants were kidnapped across several days in the northern Mexican state of Durango and held against their will before crossing the U.S. border into El Paso (Reuters)

Mexico’s Top Court Approves Extension of Military’s Role in Policing

  • The Supreme Court’s ruling allows the military to continue law enforcement duties until 2028; President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has sought to maintain the military’s policing role since 2019, when lawmakers voted that civilian police should patrol the streets instead of the army (AP)

Failed Law Enforcement Investigations Highlight Rise in Femicides

  • The attempted cover-up of the death of Ariadna Lopez in the state of Morelos in October was identified as only one example of victim-blaming that has become common in Mexico as the number of femicides continues to rise (Reuters)
  • In addition, a national statistics agency, INEGI, found that around twenty women are killed per day, while only 13.1 percent of women who were physically or sexually assaulted by their partners reported the incident (Reuters)
  • Meanwhile, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) cited a similar pattern of cover-ups evident in the case of forty-three student teachers that went missing in 2014 (Reuters)
  • In general, high rates of violence in Mexico have overwhelmed the country’s morgues as they work to identify tens of thousands of bodies (France24)

Mexico Issues Arrest Warrant for US Citizen Accused of Murder

  • Gunfire broke out in Nuevo Laredo after Mexican authorities arrested a leader of the infamous Northeast cartel’s enforcement arm, causing the U.S. Consulate to issue an order to shelter in place and cancel classes and visa appointments (AP)

Shooting in Northern Mexico Kills Unknown Number of People

  • Gunmen attacked a police station in the state of Guanajuato, killing an unspecified number of people and wounding three policemen after the police returned fire (AP)

Mexican Authorities Uncover Clandestine Refugee Camp

  • Members of the National Guard found 368 refugees from Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Ecuador, El Salvador, and Cuba in the southern state of Chiapas near the border with Guatemala (Reuters)

U.S. Announces New Sanctions on Mexican Drug Cartel

  • The U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions on the Familia Michoacana drug cartel suspected of trafficking fentanyl into the United States (AP)
  • Meanwhile, a Mexican court authorized the United States to seize the assets of drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, cofounder of the Guadalajara Cartel, who was captured in July (Reuters)

Mexicans Protest Proposed Changes to Election Agency

  • Tens of thousands of people protested in Mexico City after President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador proposed scrapping the authority that regulates elections in favor of a system that critics say would provide less independent oversight (WSJ)

Mexican Officials Launch Probe Into Potential Cover Up

  • An investigation into the state attorney’s office of Morelos was instigated after the Mexican anti-corruption authority accused prosecutors of covering up the death of twenty-seven-year-old Ariadna Lopez, whose body was found in Morelos after she disappeared from Mexico City on October 30 (Reuters)
  • Meanwhile, another mother was killed in the state of Guanajuato while searching for her disappeared child; this is the fifth such occurrence since the beginning of 2021 (AP)

Five Women Found Dead Near Mexico City

  • Local authorities said they recovered the bodies of five women, likely the victims of an organized crime dispute, in the city of Cuautla, Morelos, bordering Mexico City (Reuters)

Mexican Congressman Attempts to Moderate Deal with Drug Cartels

  • Mexican congressman Manuel Espino Barrientos presented a proposal to the Interior Secretary for a peace deal between the Mexican government and unnamed drug cartels that would integrate them into the legal economy; he argued it was the only way to end the worsening cartel violence (Vice)

UN Human Rights Office Condemns Death of Anti-Dam Activist

  • The Office of the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights claimed anti-damn activist Filogonio Martinez was shot to death after his body was found on Wednesday in the southern Mexico state of Oaxaca (AP)

Mexican Authorities Claim Drug Cartel Responsible for Killing 20

  • Mexican authorities claimed that the Familia Michocana cartel used social media to blame a rival gang for the murder of twenty people in Totolapan on October 5 (AP)

Gunmen Sentenced to Life Imprisonment After Killing U.S. Consulate Worker

  • Two people associated with the Barrio Azteca gang were sentenced after being found guilty of fatally shooting a U.S. consulate worker Lesley Enriquez, her husband, and another person in March 2010 (Reuters)

Mexican Activists File Hague Complaint Against Officials Over Disappearances

  • The activists alleged that Mexican authorities participated in the disappearances of hundreds of people in the coastal state of Veracruz between 2010 and 2016 (AP)

U.S. Issues Sanctions Related to Mexican Drug Cartel

  • The U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions against individuals and companies associated with the Sinaloa drug cartel run by Juan Francisco Valenzuela Valenzuela, who was arrested alongside two of his siblings in 2020 and 2021 for importing and transporting illicit drugs in the U.S. (AP)
  • Meanwhile, President Biden spoke with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Tuesday to discuss the Venezuelan migrant crisis along the U.S.-Mexico border (AP)

Gunmen Kill Twelve in Central Mexico Bar

  • Gunmen killed twelve people at a bar in the central state of Guanajuato; it is Guanajuato’s second mass shooting in a month (CNN)

Mexican Congress Approves Continuation of Military Presence

  • Lawmakers approved a bill to keep the military on the streets performing law-enforcement duties through 2028 (BBC)

Mexican Woman Shot in Search for Missing Daughter

  • Esmeralda Gallardo was killed in the city of Puebla as she was leading search efforts with the activist group “Voice of the Disappeared in Puebla” to find her 22-year-old daughter who disappeared last January; this is the fourth such murder since the beginning of 2021 (AP)
  • Meanwhile, one person was killed and four wounded when a shootout occurred at a mall in Guadalajara after bodyguards and soldiers opened fire on suspects attempting to kidnap a local car dealer (AP)

Report Lists Mexico as the Deadliest Country for Environmental Activists

  • An annual report released by the non-governmental organization Global Witness revealed fifty-four environmental and land defense activists were killed in Mexico in 2021, marking the third consecutive year of increases in such incidents for the country (Associated Press)
  • Meanwhile, members of Lev Tahor, an extreme ultra-orthodox Jewish sect whose leadership is under investigation for organized crime and human trafficking, escaped a government shelter in southern Mexico (Associated Press)

Prosecutor of Probe Into 2014 Student Disappearance Resigns

  • The prosecutor leading a probe into the 2014 disappearance of forty-three students resigned over disagreements about the investigation process, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said (Reuters)