The fight to control the Guerrero drug market-The most lucrative in Mexico

Translation  by Lucio republished from Nexos

By Víctor Manuel Sánchez Valdés 

Why have the levels of violence in Guerrero have increased over the past eight years? 

Why there are ten criminal organizations now vying for control of the municipalities of Guerrero? 

And why is there so much interest from the criminal organizations to co-opt and corrupt police forces in Guerrero? 

All these questions share a same answer: 

Guerrero is today the most lucrative drug market in the country, having strong incentives for several criminal organizations to be at war for control of regions of opium poppy and marihuana production.

While there are no statistics to help us precisely quantify the market size of the drug production in Guerrero, in the last 15 years, the Mexican army has managed to detect and destroy, an excess of 30,910 hectares of marihuana and  129,146 hectares of opium poppy; also found, were dozens of laboratories where heroin and methamphetamine were  processed.

                                                   Opium poppy eradication 

Drug farming found in all but three Guerrero municipalities

With only three exceptions; Ilatenco, Juchitán and Marquelia, spanning January 2000 to December 2014, federal authorities found at least a field of poppies or marijuana in all municipalities of Guerrero, this means that drug production is not focused on a particular area or region; it is a problem that permeates  the state.

Therefore, it is not strange that permanent presence of at least one criminal organization in 65 of the 81 municipalities of the state and in 47 of the municipalities are operating two or more conflicting criminal organizations, [2] which increases the odds violent clashes that occur in these districts.

                                                 Marijuana eradication map

Costa Grande-Tierra Caliente

There are four major areas of production or distribution of drugs that are being contested by 10 criminal organizations operating in Guerrero. The first of these areas is located west of Guerrero and covers most of the municipalities of the Costa Grande and some municipalities in the region of Tierra Caliente. 

For years, this has been an important area of ​​production of marijuana, the location of  the municipalities of Petatlán, San Miguel Totolapan, Técpan de Galeana and Zirándaro. 

In that area, it has also been a significant increase in poppy production, especially in the town of Tecpan de Galeana.

Until last year, this area was controlled by Caballeros Templarios, although there were still some pockets of resistance in Petatlán and Tecpan de Galeana, because in those municipalities still operating, is a criminal organization known as Los  Granados,  a cell of the Sinaloa Cartel. 

However, sending federal forces under the Plan Michoacán, weakened the structure of the Templarios in the region, which has been exploited by Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), in addition to Granados, strongly pushed to seize the Templarios control of the municipalities of the region.

Northern and Central Entities 

The second disputed area covers most of northern and central entity, as well as a few municipalities in the upper region of Tierra Caliente, criminal cells operate in this region, from three different organizations: Guerreros Unidos, Los Rojos, and La Familia Michoacana. 

This area not only has a high density of poppy, especially the municipality of General Heliodoro Castillo.  The main highways of the region passes through this area, so that is the natural departure point of Guerrero drug product.  Thereby, shipment routes move toward the center and north of the country.

Central and Mountain Region

A third disputed area is located at the boundary between the Central and Mountain regions, in which several municipalities have an important poppy production. 

As is the case Atlixtac and Ayutla de los Libres; is also important to mention that in that area there were discoveries of laboratories, where opium is processed and various synthetic drugs are manufactured. The dispute in this area is between two remnants of the Beltran Leyva Organization: Los Rojos and Los Ardillos.

                                                     Zones in dispute

Retail Epicenter

Finally, the fourth conflict is not waged for control of an area with high drug production, but the epicenter of the retail sale of narcotics in Guerrero: The metropolitan area of ​​Acapulco. 

This conflict has turned Acapulco into the most violent city in the country for the third consecutive year and the organizations responsible for the escalation of violence are: El Cártel Independiente de Acapulco and La Barredora, the latter represents the interests of the Sinaloa Cartel in the region .

Each of these conflicts requires the immediate attention of the authorities, both state and federal, since these conflicts  affect the lives of thousands of citizens in Guerrero. 

It is worrisome, that even after the Iguala disappearance of the 43 students of the Normal Rural Ayotzinapa College, authorities have not implemented a strategy to neutralize revenue sources of criminal organizations operating in Guerrero. 

Additionally, authorities have not taken action to purge police corporations or municipal administrations that have been infiltrated by organized crime.

The situation in Guerrero no longer supports quiescence by authorities; it is why both the state government and the federal government should make concrete commitments, seeking achieve at least the following objectives: 

1) To reduce levels of violence that is experienced in Guerrero

2) Dismantle criminal organizations operating in the state, through targeted interventions,

3) Identify and remove public officials working for organized crime

4) Destabilize funding sources of criminal organizations, with particular emphasis on the reduction of drug cultivation in the region.

Víctor Manuel Sánchez Valdés is a doctoral student in Public Policy CIDE and specialist in public safety issues.

[1]  opium plant  to produce heroin.

[2]  The geographical location of the area of operation of each of the criminal organizations are made ​​from newspaper sources track municipality by municipality; when found a notification  stating that a criminal organization was present in a municipality, researching for a secondary source to confirm the information. 

Of those all were published in 2013 or 2014.

Note: many of the data used in this text, arising from  the Ministry of National Defense, the request for public information that I requested through INFOMEX system itself which is identified with  0000700213814.