Despite changes in security strategy in the state, armed groups resort to attacks to instill terror in the population: expert
Zacatecas.— “Peace cannot yet be boasted of” despite the work of the new military-style leadership, as although there has been a decrease in the execution of police officers, the risk of a criminal response remains, especially when criminal groups resort to “acts of narco-terrorism that impact the population,” warns expert Pablo Camacho Sánchez.
In an interview with EL UNIVERSAL, the specialist in security and organized crime issues mentions that there have already been scenarios where “the criminal group that is being hit hardest by the authorities resorts to acts of revenge (…) it could be the murder of police officers,” or in desperation, “they might resort to ‘billiard shots’ with attacks to subdue the authorities or actions against people to produce terror.”
He considers that, unfortunately, ordinary citizens are still in the crosshairs of crime.
An example of this probable criminal rebellion was the explosion that occurred on September 23 at the National Fair of Zacatecas, which left about twenty injured.
He says that in the video of the exact moment of the explosion “it is seen that it happens very close to police vehicles and that seems more like a message from the crime and an attack.”
The government reported that it was “an accident with a gas tank,” but doubt persists because the victims had shrapnel injuries; the video strengthened the version of a direct attack, in addition to the appearance of criminal messages allegedly from the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), which claimed responsibility for the incident.
Camacho Sánchez mentions that this hasty version of “a gas tank” seemed to be to “calm the spirits and avoid a human stampede,” as at that moment a Julión Álvarez concert was taking place.
Another recent incident that caused panic, in which an explosive device was also detonated, occurred this Monday in the municipality of Jerez, during an attack on a taxi. The incident left five injured, including a 10-year-old boy who was on his way to school.
Prosecutor Cristian Camacho Osnaya told the press that in recent times explosives have been seized in several operations; these devices were attributed to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
Arrests
According to data from the state Public Security Secretariat, in a report on the results of actions against criminal groups in 2023 and 2024, it is reported that three cartels are being fought in Zacatecas: the Sinaloa Cartel, CJNG, and the Northeast Cartel.
However, it can be seen that the CJNG has suffered the most losses due to security operations, as in 2023, 230 of its members were “dismantled”: 218 arrested and 12 killed; from the Sinaloa Cartel, 219 (195 arrested and 24 killed); from the Northeast Cartel, 60 (57 arrested and three killed).
This year, the fight against the CJNG has intensified, as from January 1 to October 5, 219 were arrested and 13 killed; from the Sinaloa Cartel, 66 arrested and seven killed, and from the Northeast Cartel, 63 arrests.
Seven months ago, Arturo Medina Mayoral, Secretary of Public Security of Zacatecas, when reporting the arrest of eight people, revealed that they claimed to belong to the CJNG and “that they had instructions to attack security forces, police commanders,” including him.
The specialist mentions that this is probably one of the reasons why the CJNG is being fought more rigorously; therefore, he insists that “this Roman peace” boasted by the authorities may be fleeting, because apart from the struggle between the cartels in Zacatecas, the reconfigurations that will result from the internal conflict within the Sinaloa Cartel are unknown.
The Struggle
In the last three years, the fight between the Sinaloa and CJNG cartels has intensified in Zacatecas, as they vie for control of the area due to its geographic location and connectivity with eight states, as well as being the mandatory route connecting the center of the country with the highways to the U.S. border. This has led to an increase in homicides, forced displacements, and disappearances.
This year, the state government has boasted a decrease in the incidence of intentional homicides, mainly in Fresnillo.
However, in the presentation of the security strategy by the new federal government, a graph of the intentional homicide rate per 100,000 inhabitants (January 2018 to September 2024) showed that Zacatecas ranks third, after Colima and Baja California.
The statistic that has decreased is the execution of police officers. In 2021, the state ranked third with the highest number of officers killed, with 36 cases, and in 2022 it ranked first, with more than 60 deaths, above Guanajuato and Michoacán, according to figures from Causa en Común.
The decrease in police executions is attributed to the arrival of General Medina Mayoral —a profile sent by the federal government— who, upon taking the reins of the state’s Public Security Secretariat, implemented a militarized model and, to combat crime, created two elite police groups formed by foreign ex-military personnel: the Immediate Reaction Force of Zacatecas (FRIZ) and the Special Rural Tactical Operations Group of Zacatecas (Goruz).
The analyst believes that placing ex-military personnel dressed as police officers to lead operations against criminal groups allowed for a reduction in the murders of local police officers: “Being foreign profiles, they are not as easy to locate, nor their families, and they do not have roots in the state.”
However, he warns that when a military officer is in charge of public security, “there is always the possibility of extrajudicial executions, abuse of authority, or excessive use of force,” which could lead to human rights violations.
In an interview, Rodrigo Reyes Mugüerza, the state government’s secretary-general, says that in 2023 Zacatecas was still in third place nationally with the most police officers killed, but this year only three cases have been recorded.
He states that the security strategy has achieved agreements with 27 of the 58 municipalities, where state police are sent to lead municipal corporations, mainly on the borders with Jalisco, Aguascalientes, and Durango.
He emphasizes that the strategy is coordinated with the Army and National Guard to combat criminal groups that, he notes, are not of Zacatecan origin; in fact, he says, 70% of those arrested are from other states.
Source: El Universal
