An armed group stole more than 6,000 blank passports on the Mexico-Veracruz highway

The SRE confirmed that it filed a complaint with the FGR against whoever is responsible for the robbery

A group of armed individuals stole more than six thousand blank passports that were going to be delivered to various Passport Offices, confirmed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE).

According to an information card from the SRE, the events occurred last Tuesday, June 18 on the Mexico-Veracruz highway, when the command intercepted the van that was transporting some 6,311 passports.

Without giving further details about what happened, the federal agency reported that it canceled the passports to avoid the misuse of these passports, while the corresponding immigration alerts were issued, which consist of notifying various national and international authorities about these events.

The SRE, headed by Alicia Bárcena, indicated that a complaint has already been filed with the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) against whoever is responsible.

So far, the Federal Public Ministry (MPF) has not issued information on the matter regarding the first progress of the investigations.

It is worth mentioning that the SRE did not report whether any injured or deceased persons were reported in this incident. Nor was the exact place where the events occurred mentioned, because this highway crosses through the State of Mexico, Puebla and Tlaxcala.

The Mexican passport, recognized for its high security, is made of polycarbonate and contains biometric data of the holder, such as the iris and fingerprints. This document allows Mexican citizens to travel without a visa to around 155 countries.

Issued by the SRE, the passport can be valid for one, three, six and ten years. In the case of minors, it includes the photograph and signature of both parents.

In addition, the passport has additional security measures such as the ghost photograph of the bearer, holograms and a pyramid.

In October 2021, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs introduced the electronic passport, which contains a chip to electronically store the holder’s information, thus improving the security of the document.

Passport theft in Mexico has been linked to criminal gangs that sell them on the black market to migrants. In 2023, the number of arrests at the border between Mexico and the United States increased by 4% compared to the previous year, according to the National Institute of Migration (INM).

Which drug trafficking groups operate in Veracruz?

Veracruz, one of the states most affected by criminal activity in Mexico, is home to the presence of seven major criminal groups, according to the research “Presence of Organized Crime in Mexico” by AC Consultores.

As of January 2023, the organization led by Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias ‘El Mencho’, has been identified as the one with the greatest influence in the state.

El Mencho’s organization, known as the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel (CJNG), operated a year ago in 72 of the 212 municipalities of Veracruz, a figure that is presumed to have increased. The threat posed by CJNG has been analyzed by AC Consultores, stating that this criminal organization continues to expand in the Veracruz territory.

Following the CJNG is the Sinaloa Cartel, which has a presence in 27 municipalities of the state.

The security intelligence consultancy indicated that the Sinaloa Cartel remains a significant force in the region, with activities ranging from drug trafficking to other forms of criminality.

Thirdly, there are the Zetas Vieja Escuela, a splinter group from the original Los Zetas organization. This criminal group operates in 12 municipalities in Veracruz, and also in other states such as Quintana Roo, Tabasco and Tamaulipas.

According to the report, “their main activities are drug trafficking, extortion, kidnapping, murder and hydrocarbon theft.”

AC Consultores has identified the presence of the Cartel del Noreste and the criminal cell “35-Z.” The latter began operating in 2016 and has focused on crimes such as kidnapping, robbery, extortion and extortion in Xalapa and other areas in the north of the state.

The Gulf Cartel, through its criminal group Fuerza Especial Grupo Sombra (FEGS), also has operations in Veracruz and has been tracked in six municipalities. According to the report, the group could have expanded its activities in the last year. Grupo Sombra maintains its operations in municipalities such as Tuxpan, Poza Rica, Coatzintla and Tihuatlán, and has achieved a certain notoriety due to the distribution of dinners, drinks and food supplies during festive seasons.

Finally, one of the most recent groups identified is Nuevo Veracruz, an organization linked to the CJNG.

Source: infobae