Why Tire Repair Workshops Are the Target of a Wave of Violence in Guanajuato, Mexico

Guest Contributor for Borderland Beat

This article is a shortened synopsis of “Why Tire Repair Workshops Are the Target of a Wave of Violence in Guanajuato, Mexico” by the Small Wars Journal. For the complete article and dataset, click here.

This article analyzes an under-examined facet of the CSRL – CJNG conflict in Guanajuato: the use of tire repair shops as fronts for criminal activity. Over the last ten years, at least 138 tire repair shops have been violently attacked in the Mexican state of Guanajuato, leaving over 200 dead. An analysis of crime data, news reports, and local security experts suggests that these attacks are related to the fight between organized crime groups.

Tire repair shop attacks in Guanajuato by city (2013-2022).

Long considered one of the most peaceful and safe states in Mexico, a brutal conflict between a local organized crime group, the Cartel Santa Rosa de Lima (CSRL), and the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) has made it the most violent state in Mexico by homicide count since 2018. So far this year, Guanajuato has recorded 2,471 homicides, about 10% of the nation's total, according to government data. Much of the violence is fueled by the fight between these two groups and their allies for control of the state's lucrative Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) pipelines and an expanding market of synthetic drug consumers.

Home to a Pemex refinery and extensive pipelines, Guanajuato has a long history of fuel theft. Also, experts and state crime data suggest that Guanajuato is undergoing a synthetic drug use crisis, supplied by both CJNG and CSRL methamphetamine.

It is within this context that both criminal groups have been attacking tire repair shops (vulcanizadoras in regional Spanish) to strike at each other's drug dealing and stolen gasoline rackets. A review of local press reports reveals that since 2013, there have been at least 138 brutal attacks on these tire shops in the state, causing 213 deaths. The victims are often the owners, employees, and customers of the businesses. Most attacks have occurred since 2018, at the height of the CSRL-CJNG war. 

Most of the attacks fall into two methods: ‘shop invasions’ or ‘drive-by’ attacks. Both occur during the day, when the shop is open, often with customers inside. In some cases, the attackers will spread flame accelerants or throw hand grenades to light the business on fire. The objective is to quickly cause as many casualties and damage as possible before fleeing the scene. 

An analysis of the modus operandi of the events reveals that attackers use a variety of methods of attack, all with similar elements including:

• Targeted hits against owners – while the attackers had no qualms about killing customers, in most cases their objective was to kill the owners and employees.
• Speed and surprise are paramount – most attacks lasted only a few moments, from the drive up to getaway. As a result, hardly any attackers are arrested.
• Time of attack - attacks almost always occur during the day when employees and customers are on site.
• Attacks are often publicized after the attack – signed narco messages, taking of photos, and the timing of attacks suggests that the attacks are meant to be publicized. Criminal groups want the public to know they were behind the attack.

These tire shop attacks are linked to this turf war between criminal groups. According to an interview with David Saucedo, the attacks are the result of a targeted campaign by both criminal groups to destroy each other's economic engines, as the tire shops are used as sites for the dealing of meth and stolen gasoline. When interviewed, Saucedo said that the CSRL began the practice, noticing the opportunity that tire shops held. According to Saucedo: “When a motorist takes his vehicle to repair a flat tire, the seller of the tire repair shop also sells them two things: blue glass (meth) and stolen fuel at a good price obviously.”

Source: Small Wars Journal