Carrier robbery in Mexico was one of the crimes that the current administration, headed by Andrés Manuel López Obrador, could not reduce in these almost six years, data from the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System (SESNSP) showed.
If the investigation folders are added between December 2018 and September 2024, the period of the Fourth Transformation, a total of 54,534 investigations of this type of crime were registered.
On the other hand, if December 2012 until August 2018 is taken as a reference, a period that corresponds to the Enrique Peña Nieto administration, there are a total of 45,547 investigation folders for theft from carriers with or without violence.
If both figures are compared, there is a difference of 8,987 research folders between the six-year term of AMLO and EPN, which translates into an increase of 20% according to official federal government figures.
During the six-year term of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the year with the highest number of investigation folders for theft from carriers was 2019. During that year, prior to a Covid-19 pandemic that affected supply chains, a total of 11,662.
On the contrary, the year in which the lowest number of investigations for theft of private transport was recorded was in 2021, at that time, a total of 8,760 folders were documented.
While for Enrique Peña Nieto’s term, the highest figure in his six-year term was reached in 2017, at that time the SESNSP data showed a total of 12,031 investigation folders, a figure higher than the highest for the AMLO government.
At the other end, the lowest figure recorded in said administration was in 2014, in that year the investigation files for theft from carriers were 4,150.
Throughout the six-year term, various private sector organizations such as chambers and freight transport associations made calls to the government to address cases of merchandise theft along the country’s federal highways.
According to figures from the Confederation of Industrial Chambers (Concamin), it is estimated that losses due to transportation theft, per year, amount to 7,000 million pesos.
For its part, the Employers’ Confederation of the Mexican Republic (Coparmex) has mentioned, at the time, that there are constant meetings with National Guard commanders with the intention of improving the reactions of the authorities in these cases of violence.
What is stolen the most and where
The National Association of Private Transportation (ANTP) has registered the types of merchandise that criminals steal the most in Mexico.
First, there are food and groceries, then there are construction materials and then spare parts and automotive products.
It has also identified that in Edomex, Hidalgo and Puebla there are road sections considered high risk for cargo transportation.
