Mexico: Military deploying troops to mitigate violent crime

Event

Mexico will deploy soldiers to several areas of the country to stem an ongoing wave of cartel-related violent crime. Federal police troops are expected to be sent to Los Cabos (Baja California Sur state), La Paz (Baja California Sur state), Manzanillo (Colima state), Cancún (Quintana Roo state), and Ciudad Juarez (Chihuahua state), among other cities (particularly those popular with tourists).

The move comes after President Enrique Peña Nieto signed the controversial Internal Security bill into law in late December 2017, which regularizes the role of the military in undertaking law enforcement responsibilities. A heightened security presence is expected in tourist and violence-prone cities in Mexico in the coming months.

Context

The country is experiencing a nationwide spike in violent crime in part attributed to the fierce turf wars between competing and increasingly fragmented cartels. This trend has been observed in much of the country since mid-2016 despite the deployment of extra security forces to the worst-affected areas. Business owners and government figures are also targeted, and bystanders can be caught up in the crossfire.

According to official statistics published by the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System (SESNSP), the number of murders reported across Mexico increased significantly in 2017. A total of 25,339 homicides took place nationwide in 2017, a 23 percent increase from 2016. The highest concentration of violence took place in the states of Colima, Guerrero, Michoacán, Sinaloa, and Tamaulipas.

This violence is poised to continue as long as the structural causes of insecurity - such as institutional weakness, corrupt and deficient security forces, poor public services, and a political establishment susceptible to bribes - are not effectively addressed.

Advice

Individuals present in Mexico are advised to remain vigilant at all times due to high crime rates, maintain a low profile (conceal signs of wealth to avoid attracting the attention of would-be thieves), and report suspicious behavior to relevant authorities. Do not attempt to resist would-be attackers or thieves; report attacks or robberies to the police.

Due to extreme levels of violence linked to the presence of various armed groups, some Western governments advise against travel to a large portion of Mexican territory, including Colima, Guerrero, Michoacán, Sinaloa, and Tamaulipas states, the northeastern border with the US, and, to a lesser extent, Baja California, Chihuahua, Durango, Jalisco, Nayarit, Nuevo León, and Veracruz states.