Criminal groups are pressuring federal forces and customs employees to take control of the port of Manzanillo, Colima, the most important port in the Mexican Pacific and the only one authorized for the entry into the country of regulated chemical precursors, which are generally used by cartels to produce synthetic drugs such as fentanyl and methamphetamine.
Since last October, the Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), Independiente de Colima (Los Mezcales) and Sinaloa cartels have increased attacks against members of the Navy and state police in retaliation for the arrests made and for the seizure of weapons, drugs and various chemical substances.
According to consulted sources, among the illicit activities with the highest incidence in the port are also co-optation and intimidation through threats to customs personnel; fraud and extortion of customs officials and workers, as well as blocking access to the port.
One of the most critical attacks was against Rear Admiral Fernando Rubén Guerrero Alcántar, who was killed last week while traveling in his vehicle, and a sailor who was vacationing in Manzanillo, which reflected an increase in violence directed at security forces, a situation that has become frequent in Colima. Federal authorities see the attacks against Navy members as an affront by organized crime for affecting their operational and logistical structure.
Along with the attacks against security forces, the aforementioned criminal organizations intensified threats and intimidation of customs personnel, revealed sources from the security cabinet. In addition, they are behind some of the blockades that the port of Manzanillo has suffered at its entrances during this year and that have affected the exit and entry of merchandise into the country.
At the beginning of the government of President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, the security cabinet detected posters in various places in Colima and publications on social networks, such as Facebook, in which accusations were made against active members of the Navy.
Criminal groups have also carried out acts of violence against the civilian population, such as executions in public roads and the appearance of bodies accompanied by warning messages in different areas of the state, which is governed by Morena member Indira Vizcaíno Silva.
In towns such as Manzanillo and Villa de Álvarez, vehicle fires and the discovery of corpses in public areas have been reported, which has generated a climate of fear among residents and has kept authorities on alert.
Operation against criminal networks
In the face of the wave of violence in recent weeks, the Navy maintains operations to dismantle the criminal networks that operate in Colima, which has been the scene of intense disputes between the CJNG, Los Mezcales and the Sinaloa Cartel for control of chemical precursors and drug trafficking routes.
According to sources from the security cabinet, more “strict and surgical” operations are being prepared to dismantle the cartels in a gradual and careful manner, avoiding the Operation Vengeance that the Navy launched during Enrique Peña Nieto’s term in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, and which put the Cartel del Noreste in check.
Meanwhile, elements of the Navy and local authorities carry out patrols and the installation of checkpoints in the areas of greatest crime incidence in the port of Manzanillo, which so far this year has registered a 17% increase in the rate of intentional homicides compared to last year, according to official statistics.
This is due to the territorial dispute between the Jalisco Cartel and the Independent Cartel of Colima, who compete for control of the port and trafficking routes.
The Manzanillo port neighborhoods with the highest crime rate are Campos, Centro, Colomos, El Naranjo, Fraccionamiento La Higuera, Las Huertas, Salagua, Santiago, Soleares and Valle Alto, where federal and local security forces have increased surveillance.
Other coastal municipalities, such as Tecomán and Armería, have also experienced significant increases in homicidal violence.
In the last month, the Navy, together with local authorities, has made important arrests such as that of Itania Noemí, alias “La Alemana” or “La Güera”, one of the main operators of the capo Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada.
As well as that of Aldrin Miguel Jarquín, alias “El Chaparrito”, head of the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel in the port of Manzanillo, last August.
THE FACT
The cartels have intimidated customs personnel; committed fraud and extortion of officials and workers, and blocked access to the port.
Two Navy personnel were killed last week in Manzanillo.
The rate of intentional homicides has increased by 17% so far this year.
Source: es-us.noticias.yahoo
