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News > Latin America

Over 2,000 Homicides in Mexico This Year, Highest Since 2011

  • Police keep watch on the perimeter of a murder scene in Mexico.

    Police keep watch on the perimeter of a murder scene in Mexico. | Photo: Reuters

Published 22 April 2017
Opinion

In contrast to a surge in murders in 2011, the 2017 deaths have not been restricted to a particular state or region.

This past March, Mexico registered 2,020 homicides and according to data released Friday, the country experienced more killings in the start of 2017 than an any first quarter of any year in at least two decades.

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In contrast to the surge in murders in 2011, where Ciudad Juarez played host to deadly infighting between drug cartels, the 2017 deaths have not been restricted to a particular state or region. However, the southern state of Guerrero, home to tourist-friendly Acapulco, leads the homicide rate with 550 victims from January til the end of March. Baja California has seen the largest percentage increase in murders with 133 slayings during the first quarter. The total pales in comparison to the 17 murders it had during the same last year. Territorial disputes between Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation cartels is blamed for the upsurge in murders in the southern part of the peninsula.

Mexican authorities claim that many of the deaths are a result of bloody turf battles prompted by the collapse in leadership of several drug cartels.

“Every now and then bagged bodies appear in Chilpancingo. Yesterday three appeared,” said Pioquinto Damian Huato, a business leader in Chilpancingo, the capital of Guerrero state. Demetrio Saldivar, leader of the state's leftist Democratic Revolution Party, was killed Wednesday night in Chilpancingo.

Damian Huato had previously spearheaded an anti-crime crusade until assailants made an attempt on his life. The attack resulted in the death of his daughter-in-law in 2014. “I live in my home with armored doors to be able to protect my family,” he said.

Other states experiencing an increase in murders this year are Veracruz and Chihuahua. Meanwhile, Mexican legislators continue to debate a national security bill that would determine whether the military would continue to play a role in domestic security.

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