Friday, July 18, 2025

Organized crime-related homicides soared 77% in August

Murders attributed to organized crime broke a record in August at 2,290, a 77.8% increase over the same month last year.

It was the third month in a row with over 2,000 such murders — there were 2,264 in July and 2,249 in June.

With 240 murder cases, Guanajuato topped the list of the most violent states, followed by México state with 206, Baja California 196, Veracruz 176, Jalisco 167 and Michoacán 128.

The month’s most striking case, however, is that of Veracruz, which saw one of the year’s worst massacres when an attack on a nightclub in Coatzacoalcos left 30 dead and 13 injured.

The attack bumped the murder rate in the state by 35.3% over the previous month.

Although Michoacán saw just one more murder than in July and did not surpass its June total of 140 cases, it also stood out in August for two grave instances of violence linked to narco-trafficking.

The first was on August 8 when the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) left 19 bodies hanging from an overpass in Uruapan. The second was Friday’s gun battle in Tepalcatepec between the CJNG and a rival, Juan José “El Abuelo” (The Grandfather) Farías Álvarez, which left nine dead.

Guanajuato is the battleground between the CJNG and the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel. The bitter rivalry sent the state’s homicide rate up to 240 cases, shattering July’s total of 185.

Despite the historic levels of violence, federal Public Security Secretary Alfonso Durazo told a press conference on Friday that Mexico is getting closer to achieving peace, while admitting that the government’s anti-crime strategy has not yet delivered.

Source: Milenio (sp)

Have something to say? Paid Subscribers get all access to make & read comments.
A man stands by an open suitcase in an airport revision area

Foreign national caught with over a million pesos of ketamine in Cancún airport

0
Officials confiscated 2 kilograms of ketamine, a controlled substance in Mexico.
two people walkin gby a for rent sign

Can rent control stop gentrification? Mexico City officials plan to find out

9
Political leaders in the nation's capital have reached into their anti-gentrification toolkit and come up with an approach that goes straight to the heart of the problem.
cell phone with Uber

Mexican authorities slam Uber’s price hike: ‘Unilateral and irresponsible’

2
The ride-hailing app insists that the rise is necessary after recent labor reforms gave its drivers full employee rights, including IMSS membership.
BETA Version - Powered by Perplexity