Villahermosa, Tabasco: The State Is Unsafe And An Eden For Organized Crime

"Sol Prendido" for Borderland Beat

Video translation is as follows:

Federico Anaya: The following is evidence of insecurity and the degree of impunity with which criminal groups act in the state of Tabasco. It is 3 minutes past 9:00 p.m. on December 7. The security cameras of cargo units capture the moment in which a subject with a long gun stops vehicles traveling on Prolongación Periférico Heroica Cárdenas, Tabasco, kilometer 86.5. This point is located in the first city block of Villahermosa.

What drivers don’t know is that this is a fake checkpoint set up by an armed criminal cell of organized crime. The videos recorded inside the cab show how the drivers raise their arms after being threatened by the assailants. They hijack the unit and give them instructions of the route they have to follow. Two trucks are hijacked. The trucks arrive at a clandestine warehouse where they empty the cargo. In spite of the facts, the governor of Tabasco, Carlos Merino Campos, lives in denial. He still does not accept that the violence has already exceeded his capacity.

Efrain Rodriguez Leon: There is a notorious resistance to recognize that there is a serious problem of insecurity here. Surely the cause is not to be seen as a lack of capacity in order to be able to attend and solve this social call.

Federico Anaya: Any person is at the mercy of these delinquents. The worst part of the case is that if a driver stops, he is likely to be victimized by these false checkpoints. And if he doubts that the checkpoint is authentic and goes beyond it, he exposes himself to being shot at even by the law enforcement officers themselves. But this doesn’t seem to matter to Carlos Merino Campos who continues with the idea that Tabasco is a Garden of Eden.

Efraín Rodriguez León: This is a delicate matter because as long as our authorities in Tabasco see it as a Garden of Eden, this will remain as such as long as they don’t get out of that bubble.

Federico Anaya: According to the Attorney General's Office, Tabasco is among the eleven most insecure states in the country in relation to this crime.

José Diaz