Why Guanajuato is a key state for drug trafficking groups

Fuel theft, also known as “huachicol,” is one of the most lucrative illicit businesses for organized crime.

Guanajuato is a state located in the Bajío area that is considered a key place for drug trafficking and organized crime groups, which has generated a wave of violence due to disputes between different criminal groups.

In June 2023, the commander of the 16th. Military Zone, Enrique García Jaramillo, recognized that four drug cartels operate in the entity governed by Diego Sinhue Rodríguez, fighting to take control of the territory.

These are the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel (CSRL), the Sinaloa Cartel and two divisions of the Gulf Cartel (CDG). The first two organizations, according to the brigadier general, are the ones with the greatest presence in the state.

Huachicol and drug transfer

One of the reasons why Guanajuato is a key state for criminal groups has to do with fuel theft, an activity that is also known as “huachicol” and is considered one of the CSRL’s most profitable businesses.

The organization founded by José Antonio Yépez Ortiz, alias ‘El Marro’, has focused on the illegal theft of fuel from the Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) pipelines that pass through the entity, in municipalities such as Salamanca and Irapuato.

According to a Sedena document titled “Structural Analysis of the Thor case”, to which Milenio had access after the hacking of the Guacamaya group, the CSRL extracted up to 200 thousand liters of hydrocarbon per day for each clandestine intake in Guanajuato.

The report indicates that the ‘El Marro’ group sold gasoline for 9 pesos per liter, so each day it generated close to one million 800 thousand pesos. This, coupled with the profits obtained from drug trafficking, position the CSRL as one of the most powerful organizations in the entity.

Regarding drug trafficking, figures from the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System (SENSP) indicate that in the last five years, 95,622 cases of drug dealing were registered in Guanajuato.

And because Guanajuato borders the states of San Luis Potosí, Zacatecas, Michoacán, Querétaro and Jalisco, it is considered a key territory for drug cartels, such as the CJNG, which operates in 28 of the 32 entities. of the Mexican Republic, according to the most recent report from AC Consultores.

This, in turn, has generated a wave of violence that is reflected in the 14,282 intentional homicides recorded since 2019 and the 350 police officers murdered in the state.

Source: infobae