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Overview of crime in Mexico
Police investigate a murder scene in Hermosillo.
The mafia arson attack on the Casino Royale in Monterrey killed at least 52 people in 2011.
Crime is one of the most urgent concerns facing Mexico, as Mexican drug trafficking rings play a major role in the flow of cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl, heroin, and marijuana transiting between Latin America and the United States. Drug trafficking has led to corruption, which has had a deleterious effect on Mexico's Federal Representative Republic. Drug trafficking and organized crime have been a major source of violent crime. Drug cartels and gangs have also branched out to conduct alternative illegal activities for profit, including sex trafficking in Mexico.[1][2][3][4] Some of the most increasingly violent states in Mexico in 2020 included Guanajuato, Zacatecas, Michoacán, Jalisco, and Querétaro. Some of the world's most violent cities are reportedly within the state of Guanajuato with extortion from criminal groups (such as CSRL and CJNG) now being commonplace. The state of Zacatecas is said to be valuable to multiple organized crime groups (including the Sinaloa Cartel and CJNG) for drug trafficking, specifically methamphetamine to the United States. As of 2021, Michoacán is experiencing increased instances of extortion and kidnapping due to a growing presence and escalation in the armed conflicts between CJNG and Cárteles Unidos on regions bordering the neighboring state of Jalisco. CJNG is also currently battling the Los Chapitos faction of the Sinaloa Cartel in the North Mexican region of Sonora.
Mexico has experienced increasingly high crime rates, especially in major urban centers. The country's great economic polarization has stimulated criminal activity mainly in the lower socioeconomic strata, which include the majority of the country's population. Crime is increasing at high levels, and is repeatedly marked by violence, especially in the cities of Tijuana and Ciudad Juárez, and the states of Baja California, Durango, Sinaloa, Guerrero, Chihuahua, Michoacán, Tamaulipas, and Nuevo León.[5] Other metropolitan areas have lower, yet still serious, levels of crime. Low apprehension and conviction rates contribute to the high crime rate. Since many crimes go unreported, the rates may be much higher than reported by the government.[6] The murder rate in 2021 was 28 per 100,000.[7] Most of the crime is committed by a small proportion of the population involved in the drug trade with about half of murders drug related.[8]
Assault and theft make up the vast majority of crimes. While urban areas tend to have higher crime rates, as is typical in most countries, the United States–Mexico border has also been a problematic area. In 2017, Mexico witnessed a record number of murders with 29,158 homicides recorded.[9]
Mexico is Latin America's most dangerous country for journalists according to the Global Criminality Index 2016. Many of these crimes go unpunished, which has led to campaigns in the press and demonstrations highlighting the supposed 'impunity' of those responsible for murdering investigative journalists.[10]
^"The Mexican Drug Cartels' Other Business: Sex Trafficking". Time. July 31, 2013.
^"Tenancingo: the small town at the dark heart of Mexico's sex-slave trade". The Guardian. April 4, 2015.
^"Human trafficking survivors find hope in Mexico City". Deseret News. July 17, 2015.
^"Hiding in plain sight, a hair salon reaches Mexican trafficking victims". The Christian Science Monitor. April 12, 2016.
^"El narco se expande en México". New America Media. Archived from the original on November 25, 2011. Retrieved October 7, 2011.
^"Mexico City crime rate rises sharply". AP/Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. December 15, 1997. Archived from the original on March 23, 2006. Retrieved May 23, 2006.
^"Intentional homicides (per 100,000 people) - Mexico". World Bank. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
^"The Staggering Death Toll of Mexico's Drug War". Pbs.org. Archived from the original on July 15, 2017. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
^Is Cancun Safe? 14 Killed in Brutal Crime Spree at Mexican Resort Town Archived April 14, 2018, at the Wayback Machine Brendan Cole, Newsweek, April 13, 2018
^"Reporter's Murder in Mexico Revives Outrage over Violence against Journalists". leakofnations.com. Archived from the original on March 28, 2017. Retrieved March 27, 2017.
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