Jalisco cartel “CJNG” is targeting the Mexican elite

The Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel (CJNG) has targeted the elite of Mexican authorities, according to The Washington Post.

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In a report signed by Kevin Sieff, head of the office for Mexico and Central America of the influential US newspaper, the change in the strategy of Mexican criminal organizations is highlighted, which did not usually have government officials among its objectives, contrary to the of their similar South Americans

“Unlike Pablo Escobar’s drug cartels in Colombia, Mexican drug trafficking organizations have rarely approached top officials, partly to avoid confrontation with the state and partly because they consider bribery to be a tool. more useful than murder.

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“Although local politicians have been frequent targets, state governors and federal officials have not been,” says the report, which highlights the recent attack on the head of the Mexico City police, Omar García Harfuch , and the threats to the Jalisco governor Enrique Alfaro and the national commissioner for Human Rights, Rosario Piedra Ibarra.

“Before they allegedly attempted to assassinate this city’s chief of police, the foot soldiers of Mexico’s most powerful drug cartel had already left a bloody trail across the country,” recalls the WP.

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Sieff states that, prior to the attack on García Harfuch, armed men killed the federal judge, Uriel Villegas Ortiz, and his wife, Verónica Barajas, in Colima. “Villegas Ortiz became famous by presiding over the case that allowed the extradition to the United States of Rubén Oseguera, known as El Menchito, a son of the head of the Jalisco cartel,” he points out.

The violence continues

The Washington Post states that last year was the deadliest in Mexico’s recent history, with 35,588 homicides.

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“This year, despite the new coronavirus, violence has continued near record highs. Analysts attribute much of the killings to territorial wars between the CJNG and its rivals as it expands into new territory, “he explains.

He details that US officials have mapped the “rapid expansion” of the cartel. It is now the main drug trafficking organization in 24 of the 32 states in Mexico, according to the DEA. Their strategy is to use extreme violence to overwhelm local populations.

“They just had this rapid rise because they don’t value human life, no matter who it is,” said Matthew Donahue, DEA deputy director of operations, quoted by the WP.

Show of strength

Recalling the recent massacre of youth in Irapuato, the text indicates that, in Guanajuato and elsewhere, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has debated how to respond to the expansion of the cartel and the increasing violence it has caused.

“The populist leader campaigned under the motto ‘hugs, not gunshots’, suggesting that he would not launch a military offensive to curb the influence of the Jalisco cartel,” says the report, which immediately recalls the release of Ovidio Guzmán, Joaquín’s son. El Chapo Guzmán, in a failed operation.

Finally, Sieff’s text states that, in the absence of conclusive testimony from suspected attackers, the question of why the CJNG would attempt a high-profile murder remains unanswered.

“Some analysts think that El Mencho, believed to be hiding in the mountains of Jalisco, Colima and Michoacán, is ill with a liver problem and that the attack could have been a show of strength from someone trying to ascend through the ranks of the cartel, ”notes The Washington Post.

Source: proceso.com.mx, washingtonpost.com

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