Thursday, October 2, 2025

Transportation services consider self-defense force to battle extortion

Bus drivers in the state of México announced that they will form self-defense groups to protect themselves from criminals who target public transportation in the Mexico City metropolitan area.

Axel García Aguilera, the president of the Izgasa transportation company and a representative of the Autonomous Drivers’ Alliance (AAA) in México state, said state and municipal police have failed to address the problem of crime on public transportation because they are infiltrated by organized crime.

“Yes, we are planning to create self-defense groups, and not just for transportation, but citizen self-defense groups,” he said.

A year and a half ago, the AAA gave the state government a Risk Atlas showing the neighborhoods where organized crime operates, as well as documentation of the murders of 10 bus drivers and nine transportation union representatives by organized crime. But García says the government has not taken any action.

According to statistics gathered by the alliance, over 1,000 crimes take place on public transportation every day, but most are not reported because victims don’t trust the police or they see filing a report as a waste of time.

García explained that extortion gangs put colored stickers on buses to mark which drivers have paid protection fees, which run between 3,000 and 5,000 pesos per vehicle (US $154 to $257). Failing to pay fees has resulted in vehicles being burned and drivers being beaten and even killed.

In his morning press conference on Thursday, President López Obrador said the National Guard could be deployed to México state to help monitor public transportation.

México state authorities say the Jalisco New Generation Cartel is involved in the extortion racket.

Source: El Universal (sp)

Have something to say? Paid Subscribers get all access to make & read comments.
Firefighters hose down a gas tanker on its side in a highway

New rules for hazardous material transport announced in wake of deadly CDMX tanker explosion

0
While the federal changes focus on LP gas, Mexico City announced new standards for moving a wide variety of dangerous substances.
A representative of Sedema announcing a naming contest for a newly discovered firefly

Scientists discovered a new species of firefly in Mexico City. Can you help name it?

0
Mexico ranks second in the world for firefly diversity, with about 300 documented species (17 of them in Mexico City), though they face mounting threats such as light pollution, climate change and habitat loss.
dollars

Remittances to Mexico fall 8.3% in August, marking 5th consecutive monthly decline

1
Total income from remittances — money that helps millions of Mexican families make ends meet — is on track to decline in 2025 for the first time in more than a decade.
BETA Version - Powered by Perplexity