2019: Mexico's most violent cities; States of Guanajuato, Baja California, Colima are the epicenters of violence

Chivis Martinez  Borderland Beat   Reforma

                                              Rosarito Beach, Baja California

Rosarito, Manzanillo and Tijuana beaches were the most violent municipalities during 2019, reported the Citizen Council for Public Security and Criminal Justice.

In a report presented this Monday, the association revealed that Salamanca and Tecomán complete the list of the top five violent cities.

These municipalities obtained the highest scores based on their own methodology that considers crime rates such as homicide, kidnapping, willful injuries and extortion.

The national index of violence, according to the Council, was 27 points; however, Playas de Rosarito had 104, Manzanillo 87, Tijuana 86, Salamanca 82 and Tecomán 69 points.

The municipalities are:

 Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, Ciudad Juárez, Celaya, Acámbaro, Uruapan, Solidaridad, Centro (Villahermosa), Valle de Santiago, Silao, Tecate, Salvatierra, Irapuato, Zamora, Zumpango and Juchitán.

Of the 238 municipalities in the study, 121 have a higher number than global index. 

In 2018 there were 104, that is, the number of municipalities increased above the national average.

"In Baja California, and Morelos, Oaxaca, Zacatecas, 100 percent of the municipalities included in the study are part of the 121 with a higher rate of violence than the national one," he indicates.

"In Guanajuato and Guerrero, more than 80 percent of the municipalities included in the study are part of the 121."

According to the ranking, the municipalities with the highest incidence of intentional homicides were, in descending order, Playas de Rosarito, Manzanillo, Tijuana, Tecomán and Salamanca.

Of the 20 municipalities with the highest homicide rates, 7 correspond to Guanajuato and 3 to Baja California.

Kidnappings

As for kidnapping, the list was led by Martínez de la Torre, Tecomán, Orizaba, Zacatecas and Córdoba.

The municipalities with the highest rates of rape were Campeche, Pesquería, Cuautla, Cuauhtémoc and Tulancingo.

For the association headed by José Antonio Ortega, the states of Guanajuato, Baja California and Colima stand as the epicenters of violence in Mexico.

"All the information is going to the coronavirus, how many infected, how many deaths, is a very unfortunate problem, but also another crisis that we have to talk about is that of violence," Ortega warned when presenting the report.

"If there is a strategy, I don't see it, I don't see the strategy, crimes continue to rise and it is not just in one part of the country, as you can see in the study, we have violence throughout the country."