Ongoing turf wars between crime groups in the state of Guerrero have produced waves of violence this year, and the conflicts claimed 11 more victims this week in the state capital of Chilpancingo.
The bodies were found in an abandoned pick-up truck that had been set ablaze on the outskirts of the capital on Wednesday night.
Family members identified five of the victims — including three minors — on Thursday, and the local authorities confirmed they were part of a group of 17 who went missing last month. All were residents of Chautipan, a small town in the mountains of Guerrero.
On Nov. 6, the Defense Ministry (Sedena) announced that the criminal organization known as “Los Ardillos” had kidnapped the victims.
This pronouncement came a day after the Army said it was undertaking an all-out search to find the kidnapping victims and two days after one of the missing — a 14-year-old boy — “confessed” under obvious duress that the missing group was acting as look-outs for a rival crime gang.
Crime organizations diversify beyond drug trafficking
Guerrero is one of Mexico’s most violent states, partly due to its location on Pacific coast smuggling routes.
Last year, 1,890 homicides were reported in the state, according to the newspaper El País, while more than 500 murders occurred during just the first three months of 2024. The killings accelerated in October, according to El Sol de México, with 117 recorded in a 30-day period.
Long a focal point of marijuana and poppy cultivation, Guerrero serves as a key transit point for drug shipments traveling north to the United States, and criminal organizations use the port of Acapulco to receive shipments of cocaine from South America.
Crime groups have intensified their battle to control the local drug trade, while expanding operations to include extortion and other illicit activities. Sedena has said that at least 16 criminal organizations are operating in Guerrero. However, international observers such as the International Crisis Group have estimated that up to 40 groups are vying for a piece of local criminal economies.
Local businesses targeted for extortion
Chilpancingo, a city of about 280,000 people, has long been the scene of turf battles between two drug gangs, “Los Ardillos” and “Los Tlacos”, according to Insight Crime, a publication specializing in organized crime in Latin America. The intrusion of the “La Familia Michoacana” gang has heightened tensions, producing the latest round of killings in the state.
Insight Crime wrote in February that “extortion rackets now extend across a variety of public sectors in Guerrero, from transportation, to local businesses, tour guides, religious events, mining companies, and even small stores selling everyday items.”
Those who refuse to pay up or follow rules sometimes find themselves the targets of violence.
Since the start of 2024, Guerrero has seen an outbreak of murders, which initially targeted taxi and bus drivers — eight of the former and one bus driver were gunned down during the first two months of the year. In October, four more taxi drivers were killed in Acapulco.
The state has also seen a spike in political violence. At least six candidates for public office were killed in Guerrero during the run-up to the national elections on June 2, according to the BBC. And last month, the mayor of Chilpancingo was murdered only a week after being sworn in.
Caught in the crossfire
The latest incident dates back to Oct. 21-22, when 11 Chautipan residents traveled to the municipality of Chilapa to sell dinnerware. When family members lost contact with them, they contacted authorities. Several others went in search of the missing group, but they also failed to return.
When help was not forthcoming, residents of Chautipan staged a protest in front of the state Attorney General’s office (FGE) that lasted six days.
On Nov. 4, Barrera — the 14-year-old boy — was seen bound and injured, appearing to recite a message admitting that the members of his group were involved in drug trafficking.
State authorities immediately offered a 1 million peso reward for information that led to the safe return of the victims. On Tuesday, the Army announced it was sending 400 troops and three military helicopters to carry out a search and rescue operation.
Early on Wednesday morning, authorities found four bodies in an abandoned car in Acapulco, but the FGE has yet to release information regarding their identity.
Later that day, Chilpancingo authorities were alerted to the abandoned Silverado pick-up truck in which the 11 bodies were found.
While the FGE has publicly blamed “Los Ardillos” for the murders, one attorney cited by the newspaper Reforma accused authorities of ensuring impunity for the culprits.
Investigators did not isolate the crime scene and towed the vehicle to FGE headquarters before forensic scientists arrived.
Such failure to follow due process prevents effective prosecution and fuels allegations that some officials are on the payroll of the cartels. The magazine Proceso — citing data from the national statistics institute, INEGI — reported that more than half of Guerrero’s FGE officials failed background checks.
With reports from El Financiero, El País, Milenio, López-Dóriga Digital, BBC and Insight Crime
