The dispute between criminal groups for control of the port of Manzanillo, the only one on the Pacific coast through which controlled chemical precursors are allowed to enter the country, has triggered violence in recent weeks in Colima.
According to an intelligence report, to which MILENIO had access, murders in Manzanillo have increased 17 percent this year, compared to the previous year.
Intentional injuries have increased 15%; vehicle theft, 22%; drug dealing, 4%; and robbery of businesses, 17 percent.
Latest crimes reported in Colima
Executions in public roads, the appearance of corpses with drug messages, the burning of vehicles and even the murder of elements of the Navy (Semar) and a state police officer, are some of the violent events that have been recorded between October and November, and that keep the population in suspense.
Control of the port and thus the precursors used to produce synthetic drugs, such as fentanyl and methamphetamine, is mainly fought over by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and the Independent Cartel of Colima, known as Los Mezcales. Although the Pacific Cartel is also present in the state.
The neighborhoods with the highest crime rate are Campos, Centro, Colomos, El Naranjo, Fraccionamiento La Higuera, Las Huertas, Salagua, Santiago, Soleares and Valle Alto.
In addition to Manzanillo, violence has also increased in other municipalities on the coast, such as Tecomán and Armería.
How many homicides are there in Colima?
According to figures from the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System, the municipality of Colima has the highest homicide rate in the country, with 173.2 victims per 100,000 inhabitants, well above the national rate of 20.5.
On November 8, Fernando Rubén Guerrero Alcántar, who was a rear admiral of the Navy, was shot to death in Manzanillo, while he was driving his private vehicle in the port.
Two armed men, who were traveling on a motorcycle, caught up with him on Lázaro Cárdenas Avenue and shot him directly.
Guerrero Alcántar was director of the Veracruz customs between September 2022 and August 2023.
A few days before that crime, on October 30, another sailor who was vacationing in Manzanillo had also been shot to death.
The intelligence report consulted indicates that in the port area of Manzanillo, criminal groups extract illicit cargo, including chemical precursors, but also threaten customs personnel, extort officials and block access to the port.
Meanwhile, from October to date, the Semar has managed to seize 8,464 fentanyl pills, with an estimated value of 12 million pesos. 3.2 tons of cocaine were also seized, located in marked packages floating in the sea.
Sinaloa Cartel operator arrested
Last week, Itania Noemí Hernández Zepeda, La Alemana or La Güera, was captured, identified as one of the most relevant operators of the Sinaloa Cartel, particularly of the Los Mayos faction, in Manzanillo, Colima.
In mid-August, Aldrín Miguel Jarquín, known as El Chaparrito, leader of the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel in Colima, was arrested.
Federal authorities have identified Julio Alberto Castillo Rodríguez, El Toro, as the regional head of the CJNG. While the plaza boss in Manzanillo is a man nicknamed El Cuervo.
Other leaders of this criminal group in Colima are Carlos Macías Ayar, Sky, Cora or Antena, who operates in Tecomán, Armería, Ixtlahuacán and Minatitlán.
In the state capital, the boss is Joaquín Álvarez Escalón, El JK or Joaco, who is also identified as a criminal leader in the municipalities of Cuauhtémoc, Coquimatlán and Comala.
Source: milenio
