Drug Violence Increases in Chihuahua State

The U.S. Consulate General in Ciudad Juarez, across the Rio Grande from El Paso, Texas, issued an alert Dec. 8 saying that drug violence has now spread to family members of rival cartel members and violent crime is increasing throughout the state of Chihuahua.

Because of such violence, the consulate advises Americans to defer non-essential travel to the Guadalupe Bravo area southeast of the city—known locally as “Valle de Juarez”—and to the entire northwest quarter of the state, a region that “begins in Puerto Palomas and runs south to the municipalities of Namiquipa and Madera, and west to the Chihuahua state boundary with Sonora; it includes the city of Nuevo Casas Grandes and surrounding communities.”

In other news, the Consulate General Hermosillo issued an alert Dec. 4 stating that a seasonal spike in robberies on toll roads in Sonora and Sinaloa states usually occurs at this time of year as criminals target visitors bringing presents to family members.

Such robberies usually occur at night or before dawn when thieves pull over their victims using flashing lights that resemble police lights.

Categories: border, organized crime