Study Reveals Sixfold Rise in Arrests Under Amlo’s Presidency
A new report reveals a significant increase in the number of Americans arrested in Mexico for offenses related to organized crime during the presidency of Andrés Manuel López Obrador (Amlo). The number of arrests rose by 457%, or nearly sixfold, compared to the previous administration of Enrique Peña Nieto.
Current Administration’s Record
Since President Claudia Sheinbaum took office in September, 185 U.S. citizens have been arrested by the Mexican army on organized-crime related charges, averaging three arrests per day.
Findings by Animal Político
An investigation by the local news site Animal Político, based on Freedom of Information Act (Foia) requests, open-source data, and interviews with local authorities, found that during López Obrador’s presidency, 2,500 Americans were arrested for crimes such as drug trafficking. This compares to just 449 arrests during Peña Nieto’s term. More than two-thirds of the nearly 4,000 foreigners arrested for organized-crime related offenses in the last six years were Americans.
Cartels’ Use of Americans
The investigation suggests that Mexican cartels increasingly use Americans to smuggle drugs northwards and transport weapons and cash back across the border. Eduardo Guerrero, a Mexican security analyst, noted that Americans are not typically recruited as gunmen (sicarios), but their ability to easily cross borders makes them valuable for cartels. Some recruited Americans may be drug users who end up indebted to the cartels and are coerced into working for them.
Supporting Data from the U.S.
Data from the U.S. Sentencing Commission indicates that of the 3,000 fentanyl trafficking offenses in fiscal year 2023, 86% of those sentenced were American citizens. Cecilia Farfán, an expert on organized crime, highlighted that large-scale trafficking operations often involve both Mexican and American citizens.
Political Context and Impact
The report comes amid increasing criticism from Donald Trump regarding the flow of illegal drugs from Mexico to the U.S. Trump signed an executive order designating certain drug cartels as “foreign terrorist organizations” and threatened a 25% tariff on all goods from Mexico and Canada. However, the tariffs were paused after President Sheinbaum agreed to deploy an additional 10,000 national guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border.
A Binational Problem
Farfán believes these arrest numbers indicate Mexico’s push to show that drug trafficking is a binational or trinational problem, requiring cooperation from both sides of the border for drug and arms trafficking.
Americans as Crime Victims
The report also notes that Americans are not only the most likely foreigners to commit crimes in Mexico but also the most likely to fall victim to organized crime. More than 700 U.S. citizens have been reported missing or disappeared in Mexico, and between 2022 and 2023, 307 Americans were murdered there, the highest number for any nationality.
People Smuggling
Americans are also being recruited in significant numbers to smuggle people across the border. Between July 2021 and August 2024, over 1,000 U.S. citizens were detained by Texan authorities for people smuggling, making up more than 70% of the nationalities arrested on those charges.
Source: The Guardian
