San Pedro Garza García, Nuevo León: 22 Drug Trafficking Cartels Operate Here

"Sol Prendido" for Borderland Beat

Mauricio Fernandez, PAN candidate for mayor of San Pedro, warns that up to 22 drug trafficking cartels operate in the municipality.

Video translation is as follows:

Mauricio Fernández: This isn’t a fight between two groups. It’s a fight between twenty. So now things are more complicated than before.

Perla Martínez: In San Pedro there are not only two cartels fighting for territory. There are more in the face of a disorder driven by the lack of coordination and federal support in the current administration. So says Mauricio Fernandez, the three-time mayor of this municipality and who promoted the much questioned Grupo Rudo to combat crime groups in the years from 2009 to 2012.

Mauricio Fernandez: There are a lot of people interested in participating and being in the plaza for what it represents economically and for many other reasons. So the issue is much more. This isn’t a fight between two cartels. It’s a fight between twenty of them. Things are much much more complicated than before. Why? Because they didn’t attend to the issue and now the issue is out of hand. Currently everyone wants to be in San Pedro and come to commit crime.

Perla Martinez: This week a report circulated by a company specializing in security identified a struggle between the Sinaloa Cartel and La Oficina, the Beltran Leyva's armed wing, as the main generators of violence in San Pedro. The Panista Mauricio Fernandez said that in a recent talk with a security specialist it was stated that in this municipality of San Pedro there are two cartels operating.

Mauricio Fernandez: It's not two as I had previously said. It’s actually twenty or twenty-two or whatever. But in that security meeting we had in the forum. There they presented twenty two criminal groups participating in San Pedro Garza Garcia.

Perla Martínez: Which groups specifically?

Mauricio Fernandez: Without a doubt Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Sinaloa Cartel, Beltran Leyva, there are many that with certainty are very strong national cartels. What’s happening is that now there are small cartels everywhere. And in San Pedro the reality is that many have been included. In other words, they have gotten into San Pedro. So, that's why I say this issue is very complicated.

Perla Martínez: For Mauricio, who is seeking to run for a fourth time for mayor of San Pedro, a strong hand is needed to keep order. At the moment this isn’t seen. Proof of this is that the closing hours of nightclubs are not being respected.

Mauricio Fernández: How bad could it be if the police couldn’t enter the nightclubs? Why do you think they control them? There are very obvious things happening here and you don't need to be a wise person to know this. Why don't the police close them down at 2 A.M. if they know that by law they must close them? Whose orders are the police following, or do they not give a fuck about the laws?

Perla Martinez: Mauricio as well as in the security report of a specialized company estimated that violence may increase in San Pedro if this isn’t addressed right away. 

Grupo Reforma