Gangland Attacks in Puebla Leave 12 Dead in 72 Hours

"Morogris" for Borderland Beat

In the last 72 hours, twelve people were killed across Puebla in apparent gang-related activities. A couple of weeks ago in Huejotzingo, four people (including three university students) were killed in a shootout. Their deaths triggered a wave of students protests across Puebla.

An apparent drive-by shootout in Puebla left four men and one woman dead in the early hours of this Monday, March 2. Neighbors of Las Ánimas neighborhood, in the municipality of Amozoc, reported two vehicles in pursuit and at least 30 gunshots.

Officers of the Municipal Police and the Mexican Army arrived at the scene and confirmed that the driver was killed along with two other suspects, whose bullet-ridden bodies were found on the street next to the vehicle. Two more suspects were taken to the hospital, but they died from their wounds later in the day.

The identities of the victims were unknown by press time, but authorities stated this was a direct attack and they did not discard the possibility of it being a "settling of scores" between organized crime groups operating in the area.

In the municipality of Huauchinango, a man died inside a tunnel that was being used to illegally extract fuel. Later that day, several human remains were found inside plastic bags in a park in the state's capital. Other killings reported in Puebla included a taxi driver, who was shot dead in a drive-by shooting; a taco business owner, who was tortured and found dead inside a house; and a motorcyclist, who was shot by unknown assailants in Atlixco municipality.

Turf wars
Puebla is a strategic state for Mexico’s illegal fuel industry. Known as the "Red Triangle", the area is a lucrative turf for oil smugglers and is now a major battleground for the control of the oil theft business. There are several fuel pipelines that cross and intersect through Puebla. Many of them reach Veracruz, Hidalgo and the State of Mexico. The Puebla-Orizaba highway is also one of the busiest in the country for freight transportation.

In addition, violence has increased in recent years because Puebla is one of the states with the least resources invested in the fight against organized crime. While there are states that allocate between 5 and 6 percent of their year budget to this initiative, Puebla barely had a 2 percent spend in 2019; more than half of Puebla’s total spend is used to cover outstanding fees from previous years.

Puebla was one of the most peaceful states in Mexico prior to the arrival of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) in early 2017.

Source(s): Puebla Online; El Universal; Almanaque; El Popular; Diario Angelopolitano