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The capture of El Marro in Guanajuato increases murders in Mexico

2020-08-20T22:13:13.881Z


The operation to catch the boss of the Santa Rosa de Lima cartel influences the average number of murders in July


Two soldiers talk to a man at a crime scene in the city of Celaya, Guanajuato, on March 31.SERGIO MALDONADO / Reuters

"July was a very tense month." These are the words of the Secretary of Public Security of the Mexican Government, Alfonso Durazo, who this Thursday presented his monthly report during the morning conference of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. With 2,519 murders - around 81 daily, an average that Mexico has been plunged into for years - last July has become the third most violent month of 2020. For Durazo, the explanation is clear: July was a tense month "for all the actions of Public Security in Guanajuato, which concluded with the arrest of the leader of the Santa Rosa de Lima cartel." The Secretary of Public Security explained that the 0.1% rise in murders that month was due to the battle waged by the Government to arrest José Antonio Yépez, El Marro, one of the heads of the criminal group that is dedicated to all to the theft of fuel in the central state of the country.

El Marro was arrested on August 2, and Durazo wanted to make it clear that after his capture the State could present a more encouraging outlook. “We had been slightly down for four months but the month of July went up one point. These are not times to claim victory but if we continue as we were, we will recover the downward trend, "he said at the press conference held in the State of Zacatecas.

2019 was the most violent in Mexico's recent history, with 35,588 homicides across the country. As reported by Durazo this Thursday, between January and July 2020, 20,494 murders were registered, an increase of 1.6% compared to the 20,176 that were reported during the same period in 2019. Guanajuato, converted in recent years into one of the Mexico's most violent states, has accumulated 2,695 murders in the first seven months of the year –13% of the national total–, with a rate of 43.3 murders per 100,000 inhabitants, the fourth worst in the country. Guanajuato is the state that has suffered the most homicides so far this year, followed by the State of Mexico, with 1,678 and Chihuahua, with 1,604.

Guanajuato has been experiencing a war between bosses for two years in which the strong presence of the National Guard has proven to be ineffective. The month of July began with the killings of 24 people in a rehabilitation center in the city of Irapuato a few days after a thunderous operation captured 31 alleged collaborators of the Santa Rosa de Lima cartel, of which 26 were released a day following. The Mexican government had set its sights on the battle against huachicol, fuel theft, and in a year tripled the presence of the National Guard in the State, from 2,000 troops in August 2019 to 6,699 in July of this year, according to reported the state government in the middle of last month.

Intentional homicide is not the only crime that has seen an increase during the first seven months of the year. Femicides have also reported an increase of 5.4%, from 537 registered during the same period in 2019 to 566 this year, family violence also rose 1.6%, and human trafficking, 2.5%. On the other hand, and always according to the figures presented by the Ministry of Public Security, robbery in public transport has decreased by 44%, kidnapping another 40% and rape by 8.2%.

Source: elparis

All news articles on 2020-08-20

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