The discovery in early March of Rancho Izaguirre, a suspected drug trafficking “extermination camp”, and The November assassination of Carlos Manzo, mayor of Uruapan, Michoacan, marked 2025, the first full year of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum's administration, which began on October 1, 2024. These cases were compounded by the violence crises in the states of Sinaloa and Chiapas, as well as the increase in extortion in certain regions of the country and highway robberies. According to public security expert Eunice Rendon, the Izaguirre ranch incident and the murder of Carlos Manzo "have been the most visible" of Sheinbaum's first year in office, but she predicted that there will be more during her administration that will need to be addressed. On March 8, the Guerreros Buscadores (Searching Warriors) collective from Jalisco denounced an alleged drug trafficking "extermination camp" after finding hundreds of pairs of shoes and clothing on a property. and personal belongings in the municipality of Teuchitlan, Jalisco, a case that exacerbated the crisis of disappearances in Mexico, where more than 120,000 people have gone missing since records began in the 1960s.

Following the initial investigations, the controversial former head of the Attorney General's Office (FGR), Alejandro Gertz Manero, confirmed that the ranch was a “training camp” belonging to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), but stressed that there was “no evidence” that the site was used as a clandestine crematorium.

“The Rancho Izaguirre issue was very visible at the time, and the seriousness of the case lies in seeing these recruitment methods, these populations they recruit, these more bloodthirsty ways and methods,” Rendon pointed out.

While Manzo's murder occurred after a public event on November 1, Day of the Dead, causing strong outrage erupted in Michoacan, where there were protests and clashes between demonstrators and police forces, and throughout the country.

Following the murder,On November 9,the Mexican government presented the 'Michoacan Plan for Peace and Justice,' which increased the number of security forces in the state to 10,500 agents to combat crime in a region where several criminal organizations operate, including the CJNG, Los Caballeros Templarios, Los Viagras, Pueblos Unidos, and Los Blancos de Troya.

Other Crises

The specialist also mentioned other crises, such as that of the state of Sinaloa, where the struggle between cartels continues after the arrest of 'Mayo' Zambada in the US, making the state "a hotspot."

According to figures from the NGO State Council for Public Security (CESP), since September 9, 2024, the conflict between Los Chapitos and Los Mayos has caused more than 2,200 deaths and more than 2,500 disappearances in Sinaloa. forced.

Rendon explained that in the south of the country there is also the case of Chiapas, which is suffering an escalation of violence and insecurity due to the dispute between drug trafficking groups in the region. According to organizations and activists, the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation Cartels, as well as the self-proclaimed Chiapas and Guatemalan Cartels, are prominent on the border with Guatemala, seeking territory for crimes such as drug trafficking, human trafficking, and extortion.

“I feel that things are somewhat improving there after deteriorating significantly under the previous governor,” said the expert, adding that the current governor, Eduardo Ramirez, has been working to “move the state forward.”

She also pointed to highway robberies and extortion as hotspots, although in the latter, she explained, Sheinbaum has already launched a strategy, a law, “and we'll see what happens in the coming months, to see if it has any effect.”

The Work of Garcia Harfuch and the US Factor

Rendon, a former official of the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System of the Mexican government, considered the work of the head of the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC), Omar Garcia Harfuch, to be outstanding, although one of his pending issues is the consolidation of the National Guard.

She said that the collaboration with the United States “at this critical moment, has been well coordinated” by the secretary and considered it to have been “convenient” in a way for President Sheinbaum and for Garcia Harfuch that President Donald Trump has pressured them “in order to justify certain changes and certain actions in the security strategy.”

Since his return to the White House, Donald Trump has sought to combat fentanyl trafficking in the US, which, in his opinion, is produced mainly by Mexican cartels with Chinese products, and has pressured Mexico by threatening to impose tariffs.

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