Robberies of businesses in Mexico City increased 54% to an average of 70 cases per day during the first four months of the government of Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, statistics show.

There were 8,338 robberies between December and March, according to the National Public Security System (SNSP), compared to 5,430 in the same four-month period a year earlier.

In comparison with the same period four years ago, business robberies increased 72%. The capital currently leads the country for the crime while Guadalajara, Jalisco, comes in second.

An even more alarming statistic is that the number of violent robberies of businesses in Mexico City – those in which gun threats are made, physical violence is involved or shots are fired – soared 191% during the Morena party’s administration of the capital between December and March.

A total of 2,393 business robberies were classified as violent in the four-month period compared to 820 a year earlier.

As the number of business robberies rises, it is becoming increasingly common for business owners to post video footage of the heists to social media.

Among the businesses that have uploaded security camera videos to the internet is the Míctlan barber shop and tattoo parlor in the southeastern borough of Tláhuac.

A week after a video was posted to Facebook in February showing two armed men stealing customers’ possessions, the thieves returned to the business and burned it down.

“With this fire, not just our business went up in flames but our dream and our livelihoods as well,” the owners wrote on Facebook.

“This time, crime and the negligent actions of authorities win.”

In March, a gang led by a 16-year-old girl robbed a beauty parlor and a restaurant, the newspaper El Financiero reported.

Last month, men armed with AK-47 rifles held up a taco restaurant in the affluent Pedregal district, stealing money, jewelry, phones and other items from both diners and employees.

Source: El Financiero (sp)