Violence in Zacatecas leaves detainees, homicides and blockades

At least nine people were found dead this Tuesday in Zacatecas, a state in north-central Mexico, after the arrest of 26 alleged members of organized crime that plagues the region, one of the most insecure in the country.

“They detained a group and there was a response yesterday that they burned some cars for the same reason,” said the president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, during his morning press conference.

The Mexican president stated that a total of 26 people were detained in Zacatecas, which caused groups linked to the detainees to set vehicles on fire and kill several people.

In the early hours of this Tuesday, local authorities reported the discovery of at least nine bodies in two different events in Fresnillo.

The general secretary of the Government of Zacatecas, Rodrigo Reyes Mugüerza, confirmed that The abandonment of these human remains would be an additional reaction of the Sinaloa Cartel to the operations that have hit its structure. in previous days.

The official asserted that the “situation is already under control” so he asked the population for calm.

The events occurred hours after state and federal security forces arrested nine alleged generators of violence who would be related to the drug trafficking blockades that occurred between Sunday night and early Monday morning.

In addition to the fact that on Monday they arrested another 13 people and that, adding other arrests, the authorities have detained in recent days 26 alleged criminals related to the wave of violence in recent days.

In addition to this, a confrontation between alleged criminals on the borders of San Luis Potosí and Zacatecas left two dead and vehicles burned.

Context of inequality and crime in Zacatecas

Zacatecas is a state with a young and vulnerable population, with a low level of education and is constituted by an industrial and agricultural economy.

The average monthly salary barely exceeds 4 thousand pesos and as it is a drug and migrant trafficking route where nine states converge, Sedena considers it an “important center” that can favor criminal gangs for their illicit activities.

National media have reported that Zacatecas has also become a battleground between the Sinaloa cartel and the Jalisco Nueva Generación.

This explains the situation of violence where Fresnillo is the municipality with the highest perception of insecurity in the country.

The acts of violence occur despite a 4.43% year-on-year drop in intentional homicides in the first quarter of 2024 to 7,155, an average of 79 per day, as revealed on Tuesday by the Ministry of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC). .

Of its inhabitants, more than 679 thousand are in the economically active population and with an unemployment rate of just 2.82 percent, it represents about 19 thousand unemployed.

Zacatecas’ main international sales with the United States and Brazil as its largest clients are motors and generators; electrical wires and cables; parts and accessories of motor vehicles and tomatoes.