Spiraling Violence in Veracruz as Cartels Adapt to New Political Dynamic James Bargent - InSight Crime
go to original March 16, 2017

Veracruz Governor Miguel Yunes (El Universal)

The new governor of the state of Veracruz in eastern Mexico is facing cartel wars and spiraling violence after succeeding the fugitive Javier Duarte. And the disruption to the government-organized crime nexus caused by the fall of Duarte is threatening to exacerbate the chaos.

After promising to recover security in Veracruz in his first six months of office, Gov. Miguel Ángel Yunes has instead seen a new wave of violence at the start of his administration. The state saw over 100 murders in January, following 132 in December, Yunes' first month in office, reported Sin Embargo.

According to an intelligence report obtained by Milenio earlier this month, violence in Veracruz is being driven by a combination of turf wars and internal strife in criminal networks and is heavily concentrated in key territories, with over half of all registered murders in 2016 taking place in just 14 out of the state's 212 municipalities.

In many of the territories, the killing is connected to disputes between the Zetas, the Jalisco Cartel New Generation (CJNG), and the newest arrivals, an alliance between the Zetas-Vieja Escuela and the Gulf Cartel, the report states.

At stake is control of criminal economies including drug trafficking corridors, microtrafficking, kidnapping, and fuel theft. In zones in the center of the state, however, much of the violence is believed to be connected to internal power struggles within the Zetas, which have seen their hierarchy decimated by deaths and arrests, according to the report.

The previous Veracruz state administration of Javier Duarte currently faces allegations of massive corruption and close collusion with organized crime networks, and Duarte is himself on the run.

Among the latest wave of violence, there have been several cases that Sin Embargo states suggest these networks are sending a message to the new governor. Sin Embargo highlights three events that could be interpreted this way.

First there was the series of murders of petty criminals in the first weeks of Yunes administration, accompanied by the message "we don't kill innocents."

This was followed by an organized crime group transporting two corpses 260 kilometers to dump them near Yunes' old residence.

And most recently, there was the kidnapping of two women doctors on International Women's Day, who were quickly released without ransom - at least according to the official version of events - after their abduction sparked a crisis in the governor's office.

Bringing violence in Veracruz under control and breaking the ties between state institutions and organized crime were key facets of Yunes' election campaign last year. However, confronted with a deteriorating security situation, Yunes has now fallen back on a common refrain of beleaguered Mexican politicians, claiming the violence has only affected criminals and that "good people and workers" should have nothing to fear, according to Sin Embargo

While the authorities struggle to contain the warring criminal networks, new illustrations of how far the state has fallen into the grips of organized crime continue to emerge.

Read the rest at InSight Crime

Related: Veracruz Has So Many Graves, Lacks Space for Bodies Exhumed (Associated Press)

Related: Violence Could Pose Threat to Tourism in Yucatan: Tourism Secretary (The Yucatan Times)

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