Following the Feb. 22 operation to take down the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), the Mexican Association of Insurance Institutions (AMIS) received reports that at least 631 insured vehicles had been stolen nationwide.

Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias “El Mencho,” was killed a week ago Sunday in a military operation in the municipality of Tapalpa, 130 kilometers south of Guadalajara, the capital of Jalisco, which led to retaliatory violence across the region by El Mencho’s followers.

The AMIS said that nine out of 10 vehicles reported stolen between Sunday, Feb. 22, and Tuesday, Feb. 24, were taken from the three states where most of the unrest took place — Jalisco, Michoacán to its south and Nayarit to its north.

But car thefts were up in other parts of the country as well, representing an unusual spike compared to the daily average that had been recorded during February.

AMIS director general Norma Alicia Rosas described the situation as an “atypical robbery spree,” an extraordinary phenomenon that is unlikely to alter the downward trend observed in car thefts in recent months. Rosas insisted that the spike was directly linked to the violent events that occurred on Feb. 22 in Jalisco.

“The daily average of thefts in Jalisco might be 12,” she said. “Between Sunday and Tuesday of that week, 396 vehicles were stolen in Jalisco, out of a total of more than 630 thefts nationwide.”

Many of the stolen cars were set ablaze as roadblocks. Rosas said that vehicles that were stolen with violence are likely to be covered by insurance companies. 

But anyone whose vehicle was stolen or is missing is advised to file a report with the Public Prosecutor’s Office for theft, and theft alone. If the car was stolen and set ablaze, policyholders should not classify any subsequent action as vandalism, since that is not covered under the general terms of automobile insurance. 

Second on the list of vehicle thefts was Michoacán, with 101 cases, and Nayarit followed with 80, the AMIS said. An additional 10 vehicles were reported stolen in Guanajuato, which borders Jalisco to the east.

As for damage to commercial establishments and buildings as a result of the unrest, the AMIS said each incident must be reported to the corresponding insurance company for evaluation. 

Because coverage depends on the specific terms of each policy, and adjustments must be made on a case-by-case basis to determine the compensation amounts, the AMIS declined to provide a definitive assessment of the damage caused to businesses.

With reports from La Jornada, Reporte Indigo and TV Azteca