Homicides increased in five important Pacific coast port cities in the first eight months of the year while the quantity of cargo that passed through them declined, data shows.

According to the National Public Security System (SNSP), there were a total of 585 homicides in the municipalities of Ensenada, Baja California; Manzanillo, Colima; Guaymas, Sonora; Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán; and Salina Cruz, Oaxaca, between January and August, an increase of 45.9% compared to the 401 homicides in the same period of last year.

According to the Ministry of Communications and Transportation, the quantity of cargo that passed through the ports fell to 40.78 million tonnes in the first six months of the year, a 17.5% decline compared to the same period of 2019.

Ensenada recorded 210 homicides in the period, the highest number among the five port cities. Murders in the Baja California city, located about 100 kilometers south of Tijuana, spiked 51.1% compared to the first eight months of 2019 when there were 139 homicides.

Manzanillo ranked second for homicides with 201 between January and August, a 13.6% increase compared to the 177 murders in the same period last year. According to SNSP data, the eight-month period was the most violent of the past five years in Manzanillo.

Guaymas ranked third for homicides among the five ports but recorded the largest increase in percentage terms. There were 117 homicides in the Sonora municipality between January and August, a 178.6% increase compared to the same period of last year when there were 42 murders.

In Lázaro Cárdenas, homicides increased 41.7% in the first eight months of the year to 34, an increase of 10 compared to the same period of 2019.

Homicides in Salina Cruz increased 21% between January and August to 23 from 19 in the same period a year earlier.

Along Mexico’s Pacific coast there are 14 municipalities with at least one commercial port. SNSP data shows that only four of them recorded fewer homicides in the first eight months of this year than in the same period of 2019.

They are La Paz, Baja California, where homicides declined 84%; Acapulco, Guerrero, where murders fell 44.2%; Tapachula, Chiapas, where killings dropped 34.9%; and Mazatlán, Sinaloa, where violent deaths decreased 24.6%.

Source: Milenio (sp)