The public security secretariat only recognizes the presence of 5 criminal groups.
XALAPA, VERACRUZ.- The presence of criminal organizations in Veracruz territory is latent and although the state insists that it is fighting the gangs and at least 29 leaders and more than 80 members of the criminal cells have been arrested, the truth is that criminal operations continue in the state.
Officially, the Ministry of Public Security recognizes that there is a presence of “five to seven” organized crime cartels and their divisions.
Official information contrasts significantly with reports from civil organizations and academics, which have counted up to 14 groups at war.
The groups identified, according to a report from the Center for Economic Research and Development (CIDE), are Sangre Nueva Zeta, Mando Sur Gente Nueva, Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), the Bukanas gang, and Zetas Vieja Escuela.
There are also Los Piña, the Gulf Cartel, the Noreste Cartel, Los Zetas, Grupo Sombra, and Los Ántrax; as well as the Cartel of the Century and Cárteles Unidos. To these groups, we should add the detected presence of people from the Sinaloa Cartel.
Drug territory
In Pánuco, the Sombra Group has declared war on the cells of the CJNG and the Zetas, which maintained criminal dominance in that region and controlled the transfer of drugs, the collection of protection fees in clubs and entertainment centers, as well as human trafficking.
In the north, in the municipalities of Tuxpan, Poza Rica, Tihuatlán, Coatzintla, Cazones, and Papantla, the struggles have left executions, missing people, and clandestine graves.
The use of very young people to commit violent acts aggravates the situation.
As an example, we have the massacres that have been recorded, such as those in the municipality of Tuxpan, with at least 15 fatal victims in total, in two different events that occurred between January and February of 2024. In the last case, which occurred on March 18, in Cazones, the hitmen showed themselves with impunity in broad daylight.
What are they fighting for?
What is disputed in that region are Huachicol, protection fees, extortion, drug sales, and human trafficking, according to online groups and observatories.
The trail of violence has left at least 13 clandestine graves, 12 in the municipality of Tihuatlán and one in Poza Rica, in the face of an implacable war between the cartels.
The criminals allegedly created an alliance between at least three criminal groups; That is, they joined together to remove the cell of the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel from the northern region, led by a subject nicknamed El Coco, to whom they attribute the massacres of both Poza Rica and Tuxpan.
The allies are Grupo Sombra and Los Tercios, whose criminal activities are tied with a third organization that has become independent and call themselves Grupo Sombra Special Forces.
Bands such as Los Pelones, Sinaloa Cartel, Zetas Vieja Escuela, Cártel del Noreste, and Células Independientes join those already mentioned to “take out” the group led by El Coco, apparently without success.
Another region in which there are also disputes is in Martínez de la Torre-Tlapacoyan region, where the cells of the Jalisco Cartel keep the citrus growers and ranchers in terror for whom they charge “protection” so as not to be kidnapped.
Source: Excelsior
