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The Jalisco New Generation Cartel expands its operations in Mexico City

The previous administration denied the presence of criminal groups in the capital 

Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum acknowledged the situation and has taken action against the local cartels - Photo: Iván Villanueva/EFE
01/09/2020 |07:57
Redacción El Universal
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While peace characterized Mexico City , other regions experienced a surge in violence and insecurity. However, it came to an end during the previous administration, when criminal organizations such as the Tláhuac Cartel and Union Tepito emerged. Violence increased, but authorities denied the presence of criminal organizations in the city.

The new Mexico City administration hasn’t completely eradicated the problem, but it does not deny the presence of criminal organizations. Information released by local authorities indicates the Jalisco New Generation Cartel ( CJNG ) has quickly expanded throughout the city. By November 2019, the bloody cartel’s presence was limited to two small groups in the Gustavo A. Madero and Cuauhtémoc boroughs. By July 2020, the CJNG operated in six boroughs.

Now that several criminal groups operate in the capital, a turf war between all the cartels is imminent. A man was murdered in Mexico City’s historic center in recent days, as part of a war between rival cartels . Now there is the possibility that the city streets turn into a battleground.

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Although the local administration made some progress by dismantling cartels, it is now facing a powerful new enemy.

Moreover, the security strategy implemented by federal and local governments in the last decade is inefficient and has shown scarce results. Arresting drug lords halts violence momentarily, but only while other cartel members chose a new leader or while they ally with other criminal groups, as in the case of Mexico City or Guanajuato, after security forces arrested José Antonio Yépez Ortiz, aka “El Marro.”

Mexico City’s government has acknowledged the situation and changed its security strategy when it was necessary. Now that the most powerful cartel in the country is operating in the capital, it must adjust its strategy and adopt new measures to halt the criminal group characterized by its violent tactics and bribes before it’s too late.

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