150 criminal groups operate in Mexico, according to a database prepared by researchers
Gustavo Castillo
Newspaper La Jornada
Thursday, May 5, 2022, p. 13
150 criminal groups operate in the country, according to the Criminal Presence in Mexico 2020 database, prepared by a group of researchers from various higher-level institutions, and Mexico City is considered to be the entity in which the largest number of criminals operate. these organizations, with 51 gangs identified.
On a national scale, the organizations with the greatest presence are the Jalisco cartels New generation (CJNG) and Sinaloa that operate in at least 23 entities, although it should be noted that according to the figures in the database, while the group led by Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes acts as a single structure, the organization founded by Joaquín El Chapo Guzmán Loera is considered from the groups commanded by Ismael The May Zambada, The Chapitos, The Cabreras, New people Y The Salazars.
The authors of the database are part of the Drug Policy Program of the Center for Economic Research and Teaching (CIDE), including Cecilia Farfán, from the University of California, San Diego, Alejandro Pocoroba, Sandra Ley and Laura Atuesta, of the CIDE and the data obtained can be consulted publicly, as well as the records of the various activities and the areas in which the criminal groups operate.
The data can be analyzed by area of operation, federal entity, its links or links with other criminal organizations, as well as the references of each of the information used to prepare this database.
Regarding Mexico City, according to data obtained from open sources and the Internet, large groups operate in the capital of the Republic, such as The Knights Templarthe Beltran Leyvathe CJNG, United Warriors, The New Michoacan Familyin addition to groups that have generated violence in different areas, such as the Union Tepitothe Tlahuac Cartelthe Anti-Unionthe Lenin Canchola band and smaller groups.
With 15 groups, Guerrero is the second state
As for the groups that have a presence in the entities, the second state with the largest number of active gangs is Guerrero, with 15 groups; Veracruz and Morelos, with 13; Chihuahua, with 12; in the state of Mexico they have a presence of 11 gangs, Baja California, Guanajuato and Michoacán, with 10; Puebla and Tamaulipas register nine organizations; Sonora has eight, and San Luis Potosí, Jalisco, Quintana Roo and Zacatecas have five bands.
While the database finds that four organizations are active in the states of Nuevo León, Coahuila, Durango and Campeche, in Oaxaca the presence of at least three criminal groups is considered; Querétaro, Aguascalientes, Baja California Sur, Nayarit, Hidalgo and Tabasco, with two, and Chiapas and Tlaxcala, with one criminal organization.
